'Go back to Third World': Texas Congressman's racist remark on Zohran Mamdani for eating rice with hands sparks row

Indian-origin lawmaker Zohran Kwame Mamdani has been making headlines since his win in the Democratic primary race for New York City mayor, upsetting former governor Andrew Cuomo.

As much as Mamdani is getting love and recognition for his win, the New York City mayoral candidate is also facing racist and Islamophobic posts on social media for his views or even his way of eating.

One such recent incident that has kicked off a controversy is Texas Congressman Brandon Gill's remark asking him to "go back to the Third World."

Gill, on Monday, reposted a video shared by a conservative right-wing account called End Wokeness on X. In the video, Mamdani was seen eating biryani with his hands and answering questions about his politics during an interview.

“Zohran says his worldview is inspired by the 3rd world while eating rice with his hands,” the caption of the clip read.

Reposting the video, Brandon, a Republican Congressman from Texas’s 26th District wrote, "Civilized people in America don’t eat like this. If you refuse to adopt Western customs, go back to the Third World."

The racist remark has sparked a row over social media with netizens quick to call out that Gill himself is married to an Indian-origin woman, Danielle D’Souza, the daughter of right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza.

A user also shared President Donald Trump's video showing him eating pizza with his hands, while another wrote, "Now imagine he ate a pizza with his hands, that would be insane."

"You mean french fries at McDonalds?" wrote another user.

Ironically, Mamdani was answering a question about taboos in American politics, which include Islam, Socialism, and Palestine. To this he replied, “When you grow up in the Third World, you have a very different understanding of the Palestinian struggle.”