New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a Good Friday message, although he left out Jesus Christ in discussing the meaning of the day.
“Today, on Good Friday, we mark a day of sacrifice. Some New Yorkers will abstain from eating; others will spend hours without speaking. Faith, the Bible tells us, is belief in the things unseen,” he wrote on X. “That belief is what will guide so many of our neighbors in solemn reflection and reverence. I wish all those observing Good Friday a blessed day of peace.”
Mamdani invoked pseudo-biblical messaging in a February speech about immigration. “Standing before you today, I think of Deuteronomy 10:17-18, which describes the lord as one who: ‘shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger residing among you, giving them food and clothing,’” he said.
He used the verse to launch into a discussion of “cruelty that staggers the conscience,” describing activities conducted by ICE agents. Mamdani went on to ask, “If these are not attacks upon the stranger among us, what is?” The socialist mayor later quoted Exodus 23:9.
The mayor, in contrast with his Good Friday message, issued a detailed statement for last week’s Trans Day of Visibility.
“Today is Trans Day of Visibility. Trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people have always been here — from the hijra of India to the Diné nádleehi to the leaders who built the modern LGBTQIA+ movement here in New York,” Mamdani wrote. “Your existence is not up for debate. Your lives are not a political issue. We’re fighting for a city where every trans New Yorker can live openly, safely, and with joy.”
