New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday that his wife, Rama Duwaji, is a private person with no formal role in his campaign or City Hall after he was pressed about reports that she had liked Instagram posts tied to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Mamdani, speaking at an unrelated news conference in the Bronx, did not dispute that the posts had drawn scrutiny, but he argued that questions about his wife should be separated from his duties as mayor.
"My wife is the love of my life, and she's also a private person who has held no formal position on my campaign or in my City Hall," Mamdani said. He added that, as the elected head of city government, he was responsible for his own views and decisions.
The latest controversy grew out of a Jewish Insider report, later summarized by NBC New York, that said Duwaji had liked posts on and around Oct. 7 that described the assault as "resistance" and used anti-Israel slogans.
The posts in question predated Duwaji's marriage to Mamdani by about a year and a half.
The dispute has also sharpened a separate argument over whether Duwaji can fairly be described as a purely private figure.
In recent months, she has appeared prominently in public coverage as New York City's first lady.
The Cut published a lengthy Feb. 17 profile built around an interview with Duwaji and a fashion photo shoot, while The Associated Press previously identified her as an animator, illustrator, and ceramicist during Mamdani's rise.
That public visibility, at least in part, undercuts the claim that Duwaji has remained outside public life.
But Mamdani's narrower point, that she holds no official government post, is supported by his statement on Friday and by public coverage describing her as the city's first lady rather than a city official.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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