New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is facing backlash after a photo resurfaced showing him alongside a Ugandan politician described as the “architect” of that country’s law criminalizing homosexuality.
Mamdani, who defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by more than 12 points in the final round of ranked-choice primary voting in June, now leads a three-way race against Cuomo, running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, the citizen patrol group once famous for policing New York’s subways.
Mamdani has faced ruthless attacks from the media and his opponents over his policy stances — criticized as unrealistic and costly — his self-described identity as a “Democratic socialist,” his opposition to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, past comments on policing, and his hostility toward the city’s donor class.
The 33-year-old state assemblyman’s campaign has largely shrugged off such attacks, portraying Cuomo and his supporters as defenders of the status quo and indifferent to the economic pressures facing everyday New Yorkers. But the emergence of a photo showing Mamdani smiling beside Rebecca Kadaga, Uganda’s deputy prime minister, left his campaign scrambling this week, according to the New York Post.
Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Mamdani lived there until age five before immigrating to South Africa and later the United States. After his Democratic primary win, he returned to Uganda with his new wife, Rama Duwaji, for a family celebration that critics seized on as proof he was an out-of-touch elitist despite his working-class image.
During that visit, Mamdani met Kadaga and took a photo with her. She later posted it on social media, writing, “Delighted to meet with Zohran Mamdhani (sic), incoming Mayor of New York City. Good luck in the next phase of elections.”
Kadaga, who served as Speaker of Uganda’s Parliament from 2011 to 2021, was a leading supporter of the 2013 “Kill the Gays” bill, which initially called for the death penalty for same-sex relations before being reduced to prison terms and other harsh penalties. Signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni in 2014, it was later overturned on technical grounds but repeatedly reintroduced over the next decade.
Mamdani’s campaign insists the candidate was “unaware” of Kadaga’s role as a leading opponent of LGBTQ rights.
“Zohran Mamdani ran into the First Deputy Minister while he was at Entebbe airport waiting to board his flight back to New York City. She asked to take a photo,” Mamdani campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement. “If he was aware she was the architect of this horrific attack on queer Ugandans, he would not have done so.
“Zohran’s belief in universal human rights extends to all people, and he has put forward the most comprehensive plan of any candidate to protect LGBTQ+ New Yorkers,” Pekec continued. “As Mayor, he will continue his record of action and values to make this a city where trans New Yorkers are cherished, our queer neighbors are celebrated, and each and every New Yorker can be the fullest version of themselves.”
But Cuomo — who built a solid pro-LGBTQ record as governor — quickly seized on the controversy, accusing Mamdani of lying and trying to erode support among liberals whose backing he called “soft” or conditional.
“[A]s we’ve learned, if he’s smiling, he’s lying,” Cuomo said of his chief opponent. “Mamdani now claims he didn’t know who [Kadaga] was. That is laughable. Kadaga’s crusade against Uganda’s LGBTQ community has been condemned around the world for well over a decade. Any serious public official, particularly one from Uganda, would know exactly who she is.”
Mamdani’s 14- to 18-point lead over Cuomo in recent polls rests on his ability to hold both progressives and traditional liberals — including many LGBTQ voters — within his coalition. Any erosion among those groups could quickly benefit Cuomo.
Mamdani’s perceived closeness to Kadaga as a campaign issue could weaken the candidate’s support among LGBTQ voters, who strongly backed him in the Democratic primary.
Some LGBTQ activists aren’t buying the campaign’s explanation.
Chris Lynn, co-founder of the Stonewall Democratic Club, the city’s first citywide LGBTQ political group, told the New York Post, “He’s either a liar or incredibly ill-informed. Oh, come on! No one thinks he’s that ill-informed.”
But Allen Roskoff, president of the Jim Owles Liberal LGBT Democratic Club, defended Mamdani as an LGBTQ ally during his tenure in the State Assembly.
“I know Zohran. I take Zohran at his word,” Roskoff said. “Zohran has been a friend to the LGBT community. Zohran has supported every pro-LGBT piece of legislation and has been one of our most articulate spokesmen in the state legislature.”
Reports that the person who fatally shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk had left behind bullet casings engraved with phrases espousing "transgender ideology" have been debunked.
The rumor spread quickly after conservative commentator Steven Crowder posted to X on the morning of September 11 -- the day after the shooting -- claiming he had received an email from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives officer describing such engravings.
Crowder shared what he said was an email from an ATF officer claiming investigators had recovered the weapon used in Kirk's killing, with one spent cartridge in the chamber and three rounds still in the magazine. The email further alleged the cartridges were engraved with "transgender and anti-fascist ideology."
FBI Director Kash Patel has allegedly fired a former FBI employee and new agent trainee for displaying a gay Pride flag on his desk at a California field office last year, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The trainee, who worked as an FBI support specialist in Los Angeles, received a termination letter dated October 1 -- the first day of the government shutdown -- and signed by Patel, claiming he had displayed an improper “political” message in the workplace, according to CNN.
At the time, he was completing new agent training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
California Democrat says House Oversight Chair James Comer made a "homophobic" remark after Democrats challenged his handling of the Epstein investigation.
U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, fired back at Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) after Comer dismissed him as a "real big drama queen."
Comer's jab came after Democrats released a sexually suggestive letter allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The letter, featuring a drawing of a curvaceous woman used as the backdrop for birthday wishes, was allegedly signed by Donald Trump and included in a 2003 album celebrating Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump had been friendly with Epstein during the 1980s and 1990s.
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