De Niro calls controversial Mamdani police comments 'ridiculous' as he defends mayor going to 9/11 service

Outspoken liberal actor Robert De Niro agreed with some of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s critics that his comments on law enforcement were "ridiculous," but still argued he should attend Friday’s 9/11 memorial.

Political rancor has threatened to cast a long shadow over this year's Sept.

11 remembrance events , marking 25 years since the tragedy that rocked the United States.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's past rhetoric and links to terror sympathizers are spurring intense backlash ahead of the city's events memorializing the World Trade Center attacks, with Republicans and people whose lives were changed by the attacks demanding he not attend .

The Hollywood Reporter noted the controversy when it spoke to De Niro in an interview published Thursday, asking, "Do you think he should be there?" "I don’t see why he shouldn’t come," De Niro said.

"He’s the mayor.

I haven’t heard him say or do anything yet that would disqualify him from being there.

Maybe I’m naive, but you have to give the guy a chance.

He’s not a part of what happened." MAMDANI HEADS TO 9/11 MEMORIAL DESPITE 110,000-SIGNATURE PUSH FROM VICTIMS’ FAMILIES TO STAY AWAY One of the past comments Mamdani has been grilled about repeatedly is his criticism of the NYPD amid the George Floyd riots of 2020.

Mamdani called to "defund the police" in 2020 and labeled the NYPD "racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety." When De Niro was asked further about whether he could understand why some families would find it problematic, he paused for a moment and answered, "I understand their pain, but I still think he should be there." "I think this stems from tension he’s had with the fire department and the comments about defund the police, which I don’t think he really meant," the interviewer added.

"Well he did say it.

And, of course, it’s ridiculous," De Niro said.

"You can’t defund the police.

It’s not going to happen.