Far-right activist Laura Loomer is at a war of words with journalist Mehdi Hasan over comments made by US Vice President JD Vance about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
The feud began when Hasan criticised Vance for mocking Mamdani's "emotional" account of post-9/11 discrimination against Muslims. "Imagine being married to a Brown woman and having mixed-race kids and then publicly mocking other Brown people as they talk publicly and emotionally about their experience of racism," Hasan wrote on X.
JD Vance is married to Indian-origin Usha Vance, an accomplished attorney and practicing Hindu.
"Vance is just a bad person," Hasan added.
Imagine being married to a Brown woman and having mixed-race kids and then publicly mocking other Brown people as they talk publicly and emotionally about their experience of racism. Vance is just a bad person. https://t.co/UQoKGkn3h4
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) October 25, 2025
Trump ally Laura Loomer responded, targeting Hasan's defence of Mamdani. "JD Vance's wife isn't a Muslim," she wrote on X.
"If she was, he never would have been Vice President because MAGA isn't going to ever support a Muslim being in the White House. Do you think Hindus and Muslims are the same?"
Loomer continued, "Usha Vance is an accomplished Hindu American. Our problem isn't with brown people. It's with Islam."
.@JDVance's wife isn't a Muslim.
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) October 25, 2025
If she was, he never would have been Vice President because MAGA isn't going to ever support a Muslim being in the White House.
Do you think Hindus and Muslims are the same? https://t.co/s2kOye92QB
The controversy comes from remarks Mamdani made during an event outside a Bronx mosque, where he was surrounded by Muslim leaders. Speaking about the "indignities" faced by Muslim New Yorkers after the September 11 attacks, Mamdani said, "I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab."
He also recalled being advised to keep his faith private when entering politics, adding, "These are lessons that so many Muslim New Yorkers have been taught. And over these last few days, these lessons have become the closing messages of Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Eric Adams."
Vance later mocked him, saying, "According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks."
Earlier, Loomer told Hasan to "go back to the Islamic country" he came from. "You are a Muslim immigrant," she wrote. "You can go back to the UK and the Islamic countries your parents were born in at any time you want."
India is where my parents were born and it is not an ‘Islamic country'. You have the knowledge, intellect, and IQ of a very small (and angry) child. https://t.co/kFoCF6zJFg
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) September 29, 2025
Hasan, who was born in the UK to Indian-origin parents, corrected her, "India is where my parents were born and it is not an 'Islamic country'. You have the knowledge, intellect, and IQ of a very small (and angry) child."
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
