Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Mayor Mamdani shared a strained but courteous moment at Friday’s 9/11 memorial ceremony, where a lip-reading expert said the man once widely known as “America’s Mayor” offered a brief personal message to his successor.
“I prayed for you,” Giuliani, a devout Roman Catholic, told Mamdani as the two shook hands, according to Jeremy Freeman, a UK-based lipreader. He then added, “Good job. OK.”
The encounter at Ground Zero came after Giuliani had joined mounting criticism urging Mamdani not to attend the remembrance events. Though the exchange remained civil, body language expert and behavior analyst Traci Brown told The Post that the moment appeared noticeably uncomfortable.
Follow live updates as America honors the 25th anniversary of 9/11, in NYC and across the nation
“Giuliani’s eyebrows [are] up in recognition and acknowledgment. But his frown grows the longer they shake hands. So he’s not happy about the connection,” Brown said after reviewing video of the interaction.
Brown said Mamdani, by contrast, appeared to be trying to bridge the tension. “Mamdani is leaning in and wants to connect. After he’s not feeling so good about it. And works to counteract that feeling by making himself confident. That’s what the hand on his hip is,” she added.
The brief pleasantries followed Giuliani’s remarks on Sunday, when the 82-year-old claimed Mamdani “doesn’t agree that September 11 was an Islamic terrorist attack on the United States of America” before moving into an anti-Muslim, conspiracy-tinged tirade.
“No question,” Giuliani said in an interview with Newsmax, adding that Mamdani’s presence at 9/11 memorial events “offends me.”
Mamdani appeared to respond indirectly on Tuesday with a pointed comment about the city’s leadership in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when Giuliani was mayor.
“People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” Mamdani said, without naming Giuliani, as City Hall released 170,000 long-withheld documents detailing air quality risks after the attacks.
