Mamdani was not invited to speak at the funeral of the soldier who was killed: “He looked frustrated”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani found himself yesterday (Friday) off the list of speakers at the funeral of Sergeant Angel Sarah Rampersad, who was killed on July 17 in the Iranian missile attack on the base in Jordan.

Mamdani, who prepared a speech in advance, sat in the fourth row in the church while the governor of New York and other officials were invited to eulogize the soldier. The embarrassing incident happened in front of the participants in the event, with the mayor looking frustrated and angry as the ceremony progressed without his name being mentioned.

A source present at the funeral told the New York Post that Mamdani went over his words on a tablet while New York Governor Kathy Hokul 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 team frustrated and seemed angry that he didn’t speak. When he realized he wouldn’t be called, he looked at his men angrily – and eventually put the tablet down.” Rampersad’s family, described as a conservative who supports President Trump, sought to prevent the mayor from speaking because of his views. “The family wanted to limit any political diversion,” said one of the insiders.

Mamdani is known to be considered a controversial political figure due to being a socialist-democrat who strongly criticizes Israel and the American war against Iran. Another source confirmed that Mamdani’s political positions led to him losing the mayor’s traditional role as a speaker at events like this.

City council member Frank Murano, who is not one of Mamdani’s allies, expressed surprise: “I was surprised that the mayor did not speak. I did not understand why lower-ranking officials were allowed to speak and to him”. Mamdani’s office chose not to comment on the event at the funeral.

However, despite not being allowed to speak, Mamdani’s media team circulated the speech he prepared for the event. in the textIt reads, among other things: “It is often said that our fallen ‘gave their tomorrows for our today.’ Mamdani for his performance. In recent days, he has been criticized for focusing on double-decker bus tourist tours as part of promoting public relations on the issue of housing, while ignoring burning problems in the city such as the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that caused the death of seven residents. City Hall in New York, as no record of such a visit appeared on his official schedule or on social media.

Sergeant Angel Sarah Rampersad grew up in the Queens borough of New York, graduated from John Jay College of Criminology and joined the army following her family member. She was one of the three American soldiers who were killed in the Iranian missile attack on the Mowafak Salty air force base in Jordan. After the funeral yesterday, a long police motorcade escorted her casket to the cemetery on Long Island.

During the ceremony, Governor Hokull paid tribute to Repmersad, saying: “I feel that after reading and admiring this woman from afar, she could have been one of my daughters.” Daisy Davis-Cardel, president of the Queens Sunday School Association, added that Rampersad “knew how to talk to people of her rank and above, and they listened to her.”