Bill Ackman claimed that Zahran Mamdani sat on the wrong side of the desk and did not correct himself after social media users informed him that the desk was open from both sides.
New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani delivered his July 4 speech while sitting behind George Washington’s desk inside New York City Hall, criticizing the Donald Trump administration for its anti-immigrant policies.
“We have been told, generation after generation, that when the world sent its people to our shores, it did not send its best,” he said, surrounded by a group of American citizens who recently obtained American citizenship and carrying American flags.“We are told that America is exceptional because we are richer, stronger, and more powerful than everyone else. The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because nothing is set in stone here.”Mamdani condemned “petty,” “weak,” and “inauthentic” ideologies that sought to define America within “an arena of superiority, where only a select few are allowed freedom, and where not all are created equal.” “America, if you ask them, gets smaller the more people it welcomes,” he said. “They’ll tell you, America only belongs to those who speak the right accent or the right skin color. And they insist that the rest of us should be grateful just to be allowed to visit.”
Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, became a US citizen in 2018.
While his speech drew the ire of Republicans, billionaire Bill Ackman sparked a different controversy, claiming that Mamdani was sitting on the wrong side of the desk. “The best proof that New York City Mayor Mamdani has never held office is the fact that he sits on the wrong side of the desk. And listen to his words. On a day when we, and in particular, our leaders should be celebrating 250 years of our nation’s history, he is attacking us and what makes our country great.
Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists pose serious threats to our present and future,” Ackman said, only to be trolled for his low IQ, with social media users pointing out that it is a partner desk, open on both sides, allowing two partners to share a desk, sit face-to-face and drawers on both sides.“No, there are drawers on both sides because it’s supposed to be a shared desk with two people sitting on it, one on each side.
It makes sense that sharing would be a bit of a scandal for a billionaire like you,” one of them snubbed Ackman.Another wrote: “Clearly money doesn’t buy IQ. @BillAckman really thought Mamdani chose this side of the desk by chance. God bless his billionaire heart. I wish I was a New Yorker. He knew George Washington’s historic desk in New York Hall was a partner’s desk, intentionally designed with seating on either side so two people could face each other on equal footing, not a traditional boss-subordinate desk.”
