Zohran Mamdani, now the New York City Democratic mayoral nominee after an upset victory last month, has sparked panic among wealthy Wall Street financiers and conservatives with his progressive agenda, but now, it’s something else about the 33-year-old rising star that’s drawing their ire.
“The so-called ‘man of the people’ was recently filmed eating food with his fingers and talking with fake Middle Eastern accents,” said conservative political commentator Todd Starnes in an op-ed published Thursday. “...maybe he’s just an anti-semitic communist slob.”
In a recent video interview, Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, was seen eating rice with his hands, igniting a firestorm among the MAGA and conservative world.
“Civilized people in America don’t eat like this,” said Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) recently in a social media post on X. “If you refuse to adopt Western customs, go back to the third world.”
Most of the criticism hurled towards Mamdani has been centered around his policy agenda, which includes pledges to implement rent freezes, increase taxes on New York City’s wealthiest residents, launch city-owned grocery stores and raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030. Yet his eating habits appear to have now taken front and center, with Starnes mocking the notion that its xenophobic to criticize people eating with their hands, a common cultural practice in many countries such as India and Pakistan.
“Defenders say those mocking Mamdani for eating halal food with his fingers are xenophobic and racist,” he wrote. “They say it’s a sign of wait for it – ‘cutlery shaming.’ That’s because french fries and hamburgers and wings are meant to be eaten with your hands. Burgers and ribs are finger foods. Potato salad and porridge are not.”
Conservative commentator and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza weighed in on Mamdani’s eating habits as well, giving the mayoral candidate a “culture lesson” on what he argued are and aren’t “gross” eating habits.
“My culture lesson for Mamdani: eating with your hands is acceptable when it’s bread, naan or pizza,” D’Souza said in a recent social media post on X.
"Not when it’s soup, meatloaf or mashed potatoes. Indians sometimes eat rice with their hands in India, but it’s much more common in rural areas. In America, it’s considered gross.”
Mamdani has not directly responded to attacks on his eating habits, though has fought back on a number of other charges made against him, one being that he harbors antisemitic beliefs, largely stemming from his condemnation of Israel’s conduct in its ongoing siege on Gaza, and his vow to arrest Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – now wanted for alleged war crimes by the United Nations – should he visit New York City.