Overview
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville shared an X post juxtaposing the 9/11 attacks with a photo of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a City Hall iftar, adding the caption, “The enemy is inside the gates.”
- Democrats condemned the message as Islamophobic, with Chuck Schumer calling it “mindless hate,” Kirsten Gillibrand urging deletion and an apology, and Gavin Newsom issuing a profane rebuke; Mamdani countered by highlighting social needs in his response.
- Tuberville refused to apologize and doubled down in subsequent posts, characterizing “Radical Islam” as a “CULT” and invoking “sharia law” while insisting he would not be silenced.
- Other Republicans posted anti-Muslim messages this week, including Rep. Andy Ogles writing that “Muslims don’t belong in American society” and Rep. Randy Fine declaring, “We need more Islamophobia, not less.”
- Some Senate Republicans rejected sweeping attacks on Muslims and defended religious freedom, as separate reporting tied the online escalation to the same day as violent incidents in Michigan and Virginia and noted Democratic talk of censuring Fine and GOP calls for immigration restrictions.