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Past and present came face-to-face at the 9/11 memorial on Friday, as Rudy Giuliani and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani found themselves in an awkward meeting.
The pair shook hands during the solemn ceremony at Ground Zero, despite having deeply contrasting political views, with Giuliani having recently called on Mamdani not to attend the event.
Now, a lip reader has offered his interpretation of what was said during the brief exchange. According to UK-based lip-reading expert Jeremy Freeman, Giuliani appeared to tell Mamdani: “I prayed for you.”
The former New York mayor then appeared to say: “Good job. OK.”
The interaction came after Giuliani had publicly criticized Mamdani's decision to attend the memorial and questioned his views on the September 11 attacks.
Speaking to the New York Post, Giuliani explained why he chose to shake Mamdani's hand despite their political differences, saying: “We ended up facing each other. I said, ‘I pray for you all the time.'
"He said, ‘Thank you,’” he revealed of Mamdani's response.
The former mayor said he believed refusing to acknowledge the current mayor would have risked overshadowing the significance of the memorial.
“We realized that if either one of us turned our backs [on the other], that would have been the story,” Giuliani said.
“I give him credit for that. The whole event would have been different.”
Giuliani added that the ceremony should ultimately be about remembering those who died and respecting their loved ones.
“It’s about respect for the families, the solemness of the occasion,” he said.
Despite their disagreements, Giuliani also praised Mamdani for remaining at the ceremony until its conclusion.
“Our differences are strong and haven’t changed,” he acknowledged. “He stayed until the very end. I give him credit for that.”
Although Giuliani described the encounter as the right thing to do, he remains highly critical of Mamdani.
“I’m concerned about him hanging around with guys saying 9/11 was our fault,” Giuliani said.
Mamdani appeared on Hasan Piker's podcast during his mayoral campaign. Piker has previously faced criticism over comments about the September 11 attacks, including the statement “America deserved 9/11.”
During a Newsmax interview, Giuliani claimed Mamdani “doesn’t agree that September 11 was an Islamic terrorist attack on the United States of America.”
He also said Mamdani's presence at the memorial “offends me.”
Giuliani said the two men eventually found themselves standing directly opposite one another at the memorial, saying: “We ended up facing each other. I said, ‘I pray for you all the time.”
The former mayor, who was in office when the September 11 attacks took place and became widely known as “America’s mayor” for his leadership of New York in their aftermath, is a devout Roman Catholic.
Body-language expert and behaviour analyst Traci Brown also examined footage of the interaction and described it as uncomfortable.
“Giuliani’s eyebrows [are] up in recognition and acknowledgment. But his frown grows the longer they shake hands. So he’s not happy about the connection,” Brown said.
“Mamdani is leaning in and wants to connect. After he’s not feeling so good about it. And works to counteract that feeling by making himself confident. That’s what the hand on his hip is,” she added.
However, Mamdani appeared to take a subtle swipe at his predecessor earlier in the week during the lead-up to the memorial.
While discussing newly released documents concerning air-quality risks following the attacks, Mamdani said: “People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air.”
