NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani not invited to speak at fallen soldier's funeral: "He looked frustrated and angry"
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was not invited to speak at the funeral of a soldier killed in the war with Iran. Despite preparing a speech, his name was omitted from the list of speakers while lower-ranking officials were invited. Sources indicate that Mamdani appeared frustrated and angry during the ceremony. Officials involved in the planning stated that the decision was political, as the soldier's family, who support Donald Trump, wished to avoid political distractions.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani found himself excluded from the list of speakers at the funeral of Sergeant Angel Sara Rampersad, who was killed on July 17 in an Iranian missile attack on a base in Jordan.
Mamdani, who had prepared a speech in advance, sat in the fourth row at the church while the Governor of New York and other officials were invited to eulogize the soldier. The awkward incident occurred in front of attendees, as the mayor appeared frustrated and angry as the ceremony progressed without his name being mentioned.
A source who attended the funeral told the New York Post that Mamdani was reviewing his remarks on a tablet while New York Governor Kathy Hochul and other officials, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, were called to the stage. "They kept calling names and his name was not mentioned," the source said. "He looked at his staff with frustration and anger. When he realized he wouldn't be called, he eventually put the tablet down."
Officials involved in planning the funeral explained that the reasoning behind excluding Mamdani was political. Rampersad's family, described as conservative and supportive of President Trump, requested that the mayor not be allowed to speak due to his political positions. "The family wanted to limit any political distraction," one associate said.
Mamdani is known as a controversial political figure; as a democratic socialist, he has been highly critical of Israel and the American war against Iran. Another source confirmed that Mamdani's political stances led to him losing the mayor's traditional role as a speaker at such events.
City Council member Frank Morano expressed surprise: "I was surprised the mayor didn't speak. I didn't understand why they let lower-ranking officials speak and not him." Mamdani's office chose not to provide a response to the incident.
However, despite not being allowed to speak, Mamdani's communications team distributed the speech he had prepared. The text stated, in part: "It is often said that our fallen 'gave their tomorrows for our today.' Sergeant Rampersad had tomorrows waiting for her: birthdays, ordinary mornings, and evenings with her loved ones. But she gave up each one of them so that we could have ours — so that we could stand here today, safe and protected."
The funeral incident adds to the criticism against Mamdani regarding his performance. In recent days, he has been criticized for focusing on tourist tours on double-decker buses for PR purposes regarding housing, while ignoring burning city issues such as the Legionnaires' disease outbreak that caused the deaths of seven residents.
Additionally, it remains unclear if Mamdani visited Rampersad's family in the days following her death, as is customary for New York mayors, as no documentation of such a visit appeared on his official schedule or social media.
Sergeant Angel Sara Rampersad grew up in Queens, graduated from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and joined the army following in a family member's footsteps. She was one of three American soldiers killed in the Iranian missile attack on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
