Emma Vigeland calls Mamdani's handshake with Giuliani at the 9/11 ceremony masterful
Emma VigelandCo-host of The Majority Report, on her X account
Emma Vigeland recounts that Rudy Giuliani said he would be offended if Mamdani attended the 9/11 ceremony, notes the records Mamdani released, and calls his handshake with Giuliani at the ceremony masterful.
“To recap: 1) Giuliani went on a racist rant about Muslims and said he'd be "offended" if Mamdani attended the 9/11 ceremony 2) Mamdani released thousands of documents on 9/11 air quality that implicate Giuliani 3) Mamdani shakes his hand with a smile at the ceremony Masterful.”
Original post
Where this statement fits
Should Zohran Mamdani attend New York City’s 9/11 memorial?
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Gov. George Pataki, and some relatives of September 11 victims said Mayor Zohran Mamdani should not attend the 2026 commemoration, citing concerns about his rhetoric and associations. Mamdani said he would attend to honor victims, families, survivors, and first responders. Other elected officials and September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows said excluding the sitting mayor would politicize a ceremony meant for collective remembrance. The dispute is over the civic meaning and appropriateness of attendance, not over whether Mamdani has endorsed the September 11 attacks. Mamdani attended the 25th-anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero on September 11, 2026, shaking hands with Giuliani beforehand, and no protest took place. The argument over whether he should have been there continued after the ceremony, and the case remains open to record it.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Emma Vigeland posted this on X on September 12, 2026 (UTC), quoting a post that shared ABC7 footage of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rudy Giuliani shaking hands at the 9/11 ceremony.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Vigeland posted this on X on September 12, 2026 (UTC), after Mamdani attended the city's 9/11 ceremony.
After the quotation
The post quotes a post sharing ABC7 footage of Mamdani and Giuliani shaking hands at the ceremony.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to whether Mamdani should attend the 9/11 memorial, Vigeland praises how he attended and shook hands with Giuliani, who had objected to his attendance. Like other speakers on this case who praised his showing up, that supports his attending.
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More from this case
Read the full caseTrump calls the Mamdani-AOC laughing moment "terrible"
“I think it's terrible. It's not a place to be laughing... the fact that they were laughing together at a very important part of the ceremony was inappropriate.”Read statement
Chris Hayes says Mamdani modelled "civility and grace" by showing up and shaking hands
“Too many people online seem to conflate left politics with being obnoxious and scathing and Mamdani is such a model for combining a principled ideological vision with civility and grace. You shake hands, you act like a grown up even whether others aren't. You show up.”Read statement
Giuliani gives his own account of the Mamdani handshake, offers praise
“So we shook hands and I said to him, 'I pray for you,' and he said 'thank you' ... I commend him also for shaking hands with me.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Emma Vigeland calls Mamdani's handshake with Giuliani at the 9/11 ceremony masterful". First published: 2026-10-21. Last updated: 2026-10-21. https://disputeindex.com/events/6376-emma-vigeland-recounts-that-rudy-giuliani-said-he