Curtis Sliwa tells grieving 9/11 families to 'stop being sore losers' over Mamdani

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Curtis Sliwa has delivered a remarkably insensitive message to families still grieving loved ones killed on September 11: “Stop being sore losers.”

Sliwa was defending Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s expected appearance at this year’s Ground Zero ceremony when he directed the phrase at relatives who have asked for the mayor to stay away.

For families preparing to mark 25 years since the attacks, Sliwa’s dismissal comes as they insist the solemn ceremony should remain about the victims.

Sliwa’s bizarre message to 9/11 families

Sliwa called the effort to prevent Mamdani from attending the ceremony “ridiculous” while speaking to reporters Thursday.

“He’s the mayor. Stop being sore losers!” Sliwa said.

He argued that Mamdani never concealed his political views from New Yorkers and that voters should have understood what they were getting when they elected him.

“You knew this is Zohran Mamdani. He was never a fake, phony, fraudulent like a lot of politicians. He told you who he was,” Sliwa said.

Sliwa then argued that Mamdani’s election should have made his participation at the September 11 ceremony a foregone conclusion.

“Once he got elected, you should have known he was going to be there at 9/11,” he said.

But Sliwa was not addressing ordinary political critics of Mamdani.

He was speaking about relatives of people killed in the September 11 attacks, people who say the mayor’s presence at the 25th anniversary ceremony would be deeply painful because of his past statements and associations.

Sliwa acknowledged that family members could choose whether to turn their backs on Mamdani, but again emphasized his view that the mayor should be respected as the city's elected representative.

9/11 families ask Mamdani to 'stay away'

The controversy comes as New York prepares for the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, when relatives, survivors and first responders will gather at Ground Zero to remember the 2,977 people killed in the attacks.

Hundreds of victims’ families have urged organizers to keep Mamdani away from the ceremony.

Giovanni Galante, whose wife, Grace Catherine Galante, was among those killed, has led the campaign.

Galante has said the objection is not about Mamdani’s religion or simply his political affiliation. 

Instead, he has pointed to the mayor’s public record and associations with individuals who, according to the families, have minimized the horror of September 11 or expressed views they find deeply offensive.

“Our objection is based on his public record, his failure to meaningfully acknowledge the horror of that day, and his employment of, support for, or association with individuals who have minimized 9/11, defended violent groups, or even suggested America ‘deserved’ the attacks,” Galante said.