❓WHAT HAPPENED: An aide to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a series of since-deleted tweets expressing disdain for “white woman behavior.”
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Drashti Brahmbhatt, an advisor to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and an unnamed older woman on a Metro-North Railroad train.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The incident occurred in November 2021 on a Metro-North Railroad train. Brahmbhatt’s tweets were recently unearthed by a reporter.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I don’t need to follow white standards of ‘politeness’.” – Drashti Brahmbhatt
🎯IMPACT: Brahmbhatt’s comments have drawn attention to her political affiliations and past controversial statements, though Mayor Mamdani has yet to comment on the matter.
An aide to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing renewed scrutiny after deleted social media posts resurfaced disparaging what she called “white woman behavior” during a confrontation on public transit. The tweets, posted in November 2021 by Drashti Brahmbhatt, described a supposed incident on a Metro-North Railroad train in which Brahmbhatt claimed that an “older white woman” repeatedly gave her “death glares” for being on a phone call that lasted about 40 minutes.
Brahmbhatt insisted that she was speaking “as softly as humanely [sic] possible” when the woman looked at her multiple times. According to her tweets, Brahmbhatt confronted the woman, saying, “Excuse me, there’s no need to give me death glares for quietly speaking on the phone. This is public transportation and you’re allowed to quietly talk.” When the woman allegedly said her behavior was “annoying,” Brahmbhatt responded, “It’s 2021 and we can stop practicing white civility.” She added that the woman looked “dumbfounded” when she said, “I don’t need to follow white standards of ‘politeness’.”
In the same thread, Brahmbhatt acknowledged that some accused her of exaggerating “how terrible white women are,” but said she hoped others could relate. “[T]his is obvi [obviously] a very small problem and instance of ‘white woman’ behavior but it still sucks!” she added. The tweets were later deleted.
At the time of the posts, Brahmbhatt worked for the NYC Civic Engagement Commission. She later joined Mamdani’s administration as an advisor after serving on his transition team and inaugural committee. Her past online activity includes support for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), of which Mamdani is a member, calls to “defund and abolish the police,” and criticism of politicians who support Israel.
Mamdani has not publicly commented on Brahmbhatt’s tweets. However, in a previous controversy, he defended another aide after their posts calling to “Impoverish the *white* middle class” resurfaced. His election platform included proposals to impose punitive taxes on “whiter neighborhoods.”
Separately, questions have been raised about senior Mamdani aide Ali Najmi, who has been linked to a law firm accused in court filings of major fraud, and the appointment of a former Rikers Island inmate to lead the city’s Department of Corrections.
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