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Zohran Mamdani, AOC under fire for odd-looking gesture at NYC rally: ‘Are those Nazi salutes?’
Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been questioned for appearing to make an odd gesture at a crowd in Queens, including by Ted Cruz and Elon Musk.
Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are under fire after a photo showed them making an odd-looking gesture with their hands at a rally in Queens on Sunday, October 26. At the rally, the New York mayoral hopeful, along with AOC and Bernie Sanders, two of his prominent backers, framed the election as a one-on-one battle versus President Donald Trump and his administration, according to NBC News.
Mamdani shared a photo of the three of them at the rally, with him and AOC making an odd gesture with their hands at the crowd. “Thank you, New York City. Now let’s win,” Mamdani captioned the photo.
Reposting the picture, Ted Cruz questioned the hand gesture, writing, “Are those Nazi salutes?”
Elon Musk shared Cruz’s post, writing, “Sure looks like it”.
What Zohran Mamdani and AOC said at the rally
Taking the stage at a tennis stadium, where thousands had gathered on Sunday, Mamdani talked about his path to the Democratic nomination, saying that at one point he was tied in polls with “someone else,” at 1%, as reported by NBC News.
“Now as we stand on the precipice of taking this city back from corrupt politicians and the billionaires that fund them, let our words ring out so loud tonight that Andrew Cuomo can hear them in his $8,000-a-month apartment,” Mamdani said, adding he hoped Cuomo’s “puppet master in the White House” could hear them.
“We climbed in the polls faster than Andrew Cuomo could dial Donald Trump’s number,” he added. “People began to be able to pronounce my name.”
Cuomo is notably running as an independent in the general election.
During his speech, Mamdani also called for an end to “the era of government that deems an issue too small or a crisis too big.” “Because we need a government that is every bit as ambitious as our adversaries,” he said. “A government strong enough to refuse the realities we will not accept and forge the future.”
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“No longer will we allow the Republican Party to be the one of ambition,” he added. “No longer will we have to open a history book to read about Democrats leading with big ideas. My friends, the world is changing. It’s not a question of whether that change will come. It’s a question of who will change it.”
AOC spoke in support of Mamdani at the rally, saying that electing him would “send a loud message” to Trump. She added that the opposition to Mamdani, a state legislator, in the election “mirrors what we are up against nationally.” She also condemned what she called “an authoritarian, criminal presidency fueled by corruption and bigotry.”
“There was a day before his presidency,” AOC said. “And there will be a day after.”
