Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office recently claimed the NYPD had strongly recommended sending a security detail with his wife, Rama Duwaji, on her upcoming personal trip to Syria and Lebanon.
As is often the case with the communist mayor, that story fell apart rather quickly. The police department swiftly shut down any notion that they'd be sending officers to unstable conflict zones.
Duwaji, the New York Post reports, is planning a personal trip to the Middle East nations beginning September 20th, and City Hall insisted she would be accompanied by her taxpayer-funded NYPD security detail.
Mayoral spokesperson Dora Pekec stated that the detail would join her “upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD” as she travels to "visit family" in Syria and Lebanon. A source familiar with the arrangements noted that Duwaji specifically requested the police protection after traveling overseas the previous month without it.
Confusion as NYPD denies City Hall claim Mamdani's wife Rama Duwaji will get police escort on Syria, Lebanon trip https://t.co/okGdWN1v6E pic.twitter.com/EYrSXkoBuw
— New York Post (@nypost) August 11, 2026
The report prompted outrage, with former Bronx Assemblyman Dov Hikind accusing, “We’re putting the police officers in danger. They will be viewed as the bad guys. These are war zones."
The NYPD rejected City Hall’s claim, however. A department spokesperson stated that the department does not send personnel to volatile countries under such circumstances.
Officials made clear that this was a personal visit, not official business, and therefore no NYPD detail would be traveling. It was a rather forceful denial and left the Mayor's office looking pretty embarrassed.
“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work,” a spokesperson told the Post.
“We’re putting the police officers in danger. They will be viewed as the bad guys. These are war zones,” said Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism and a former Brooklyn Assemblyman.
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) August 11, 2026
Duwaji doesn’t need security. She will get a hero’s welcome and be protected by… https://t.co/cyIkrkQM34
Embedded tweet continues:
... Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis,” Hikind said, referring to Islamic terrorists and militants.
Duwaji will be fine.
The request for an NYPD security detail looks especially rich coming from a mayor who built much of his political brand on calls to defund the police and slash the size of the department.
It is hard to miss the contradiction when someone who once pushed to cut hundreds of officers suddenly wants those same cops to protect his family on a completely unnecessary overseas trip.
We don't need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 29, 2020
What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD.
But your deal with @NYCMayor uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat.
NO to fake cuts - defund the police. https://t.co/2RCXU8heg2
This latest episode also undercuts Mamdani’s long-running claim that his wife is simply a “private person” with no formal role or influence. Private people do not require security details when traveling to visit family.
When questions first arose several months ago about Duwaji’s social media history — including some incredibly vile posts that appeared to celebrate the October 7 Hamas terror attacks and dismiss reports of sexual violence against Israeli women as a “mass rape hoax” — Mamdani insisted his wife should be left alone.
Reporting since then countered the narrative, showing she acted as a de facto adviser during his mayoral run, helping shape strategy, messaging, and even campaign visuals.
The fact that she now feels entitled to an official NYPD security detail for a personal overseas trip only drives home the point that the “private citizen” narrative never really held up.
Editor’s Note: New York City is now facing the consequences of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist takeover.
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