New York City candidate Zohran Mamdani has admitted to twisting the truth about a relative whom he cited in a speech denouncing "Islamophobia" in the city he wants to govern, the New York Post reports.

Early voting is already underway in New York's three-way mayoral race, with Uganda-born Mamdani the clear favorite against tarnished ex-governor Andrew Cuomo and streetwise Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani has aroused suspicion over his perceived soft spot for Islamists - but the man who wants to be the first Muslim mayor of the city that became the largest target of the jihadist 9/11 attacks has leaned into identity politics, portraying himself as the victim of anti-Muslim bigotry.

Mamdani's story unravels

At a campaign event last week, Mamdani shed tears as he recounted a story about his "aunt" fearing to ride the subway in 9/11's aftermath.

“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” he said.

It was not long before internet sleuths found out that Mamdani's only aunt was living in Tanzania on 9/11 - and she did not appear in a head covering in any photos.

After his story came under scrutiny, Mamdani tried to do damage control at a press conference on Monday.

“I was speaking about Zehra fuhi, my father’s cousin, who passed away a few years ago,” Mamdani told reporters.

Fuhi is the term for paternal aunt in Urdu and Hindi.

"Despicable liar"

Critics, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have accused Mamdani of trying to rewrite the history of the 9/11 attacks, placing the so-called victims of "Islamophobia" at the center.

But it isn't just politicians who are calling out Mamdani. The families of 9/11 victims are furious at the socialist candidate for trivializing the loss of life on New York's darkest day, the Daily Mail notes.

Terry Strada, whose husband Tom was working on the 104th floor of the North Tower on that fateful morning, called Mamdani a "despicable liar."

"How dare he lie about 9/11 to invoke sympathy from Muslims. New York suffered horrible losses from a terrorist attack carried out by radical Islamists. He is a despicable liar and this should open everyone’s eyes to who he truly is," Strada said.

Birds of a feather

Mamdani's critics have continued to call out his ties to extreme, anti-American leftists like Hasan Piker, who said America "deserved" 9/11.

Despite Mamdani's attempts to distance himself from Piker, the streamer appeared at a rally for Mamdani on Sunday night in Queens that was headlined by socialists Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders.

“I find the comments that Hasan made on 9/11 to be objectionable and reprehensible,” Mamdani said during the first mayoral debate.