Overview

• On June 30, Congressman Brandon Gill reposted a video of Mamdani eating rice with his hands and wrote, “Civilised people in America don’t eat like this. If you refuse to adopt Western customs, go back to the Third World,” prompting widespread outrage over xenophobic language.
• Danielle D’Souza Gill, the congressman’s Indian-origin wife, defended his remark on X by emphasizing her own use of forks and asserting her identity as a U.S.-born Christian MAGA supporter.
• Far-right influencers including Laura Loomer deepened the controversy with Islamophobic attacks, referring to Mamdani with slurs and demeaning comparisons.
• By July 2, online campaigns across Asia rallied to defend hand-eating as a legitimate South Asian and African cultural practice and to condemn Gill’s criticism.
• The incident has sharpened debates over assimilation and cultural authenticity as Mamdani seeks to become New York City’s first Muslim and Indian-American mayor.