New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani clarified that his wife, Rama Duwaji, will not have a police escort during her upcoming trip to the Middle East. This statement follows a public disagreement between City Hall and the NYPD regarding the security detail. Mamdani attributed the confusion to a miscommunication within his staff, stating, "There was a miscommunication. She has not yet taken that trip and when she takes that trip it will be without any NYPD detail."
Duwaji, a 29-year-old Syrian-American artist, is planning to visit family in Syria and Lebanon, both of which are on the US State Department's "Do Not Travel" list due to security concerns. Initially, a spokeswoman for Mamdani had confirmed that the NYPD would provide a security detail for the trip based on their recommendation. However, the NYPD later issued a statement asserting that they do not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for non-investigative reasons, contradicting the earlier claim from City Hall.
When asked about the conflicting statements, the spokeswoman referred back to Mamdani's comments attributing the issue to miscommunication.