Vice President JD Vance faced sharp criticism on Saturday after being accused of “publicly mocking other Brown people” despite “being married to a Brown woman and having mixed-race kids.” The backlash came after Vance commented on a video featuring New York’s Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani.
In the clip, Mamdani said, “My aunt stopped taking the subway after 9/11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab.” Vance reposted the video on social media with a dismissive caption: “According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.”
Critics quickly condemned Vance’s remarks, accusing him of deliberately misrepresenting Mamdani’s statement and disrespecting the experiences of Muslim Americans who faced harassment and fear in the aftermath of 9/11.
Emmy winner Danny Deraney was among the first to respond, writing, “You will never know what ridicule and profiling people went through.” He added, “Thousands of people had to put American flag stickers on their cars just to prove they are American. And that is after my cousin Bobby was killed. How you guys claim to be Christian is beyond me. Try being kind.”
Another social media user, popular influencer Human, directly challenged Vance’s narrative. “JD, cut the crap. Mamdani never said his aunt was ‘the real victim of 9/11.’ That line was added by Greg Price to stir outrage, and you know better,” they wrote.
The influencer went on to clarify Mamdani’s point: “He said his aunt stopped riding the subway because, after the attacks, wearing a hijab made her a target. He was talking about the fear Muslim New Yorkers lived with, the stares, the threats, the danger of existing in your own skin, not disrespecting the victims of 9/11. You’re not defending 9/11 victims. You’re exploiting their memory to smear a New Yorker for telling the truth.”
Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan also joined the discussion, tweeting, “Imagine being married to a Brown woman and having mixed-race kids and then publicly mocking other Brown people as they talk publicly and emotionally about their experience of racism.” Hasan concluded bluntly, “Vance is just a bad person.”
In response to Hasan, MAGA personality Laura Loomer weighed in, claiming Vance’s wife “isn’t a Muslim,” and adding, “If she was, he never would have been Vice President because MAGA isn’t going to ever support a Muslim being in the White House. Do you think Hindus and Muslims are the same?”
The controversy has reignited debate about Vance’s political tone and his frequent use of social media to engage in cultural disputes, with critics accusing him of fueling division rather than addressing the underlying issues of discrimination and intolerance.