‘Go Back To Third World’: Congressman Slams Zohran Mamdani For Eating With Hands
GOP Rep Brandon Gill sparks outrage after telling NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to "go back to the Third World" over a viral video of him eating rice with his hands.
In a controversy stirring national debate, Republican Congressman Brandon Gill has come under fire for a racially charged comment directed at Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist and New York City mayoral candidate. The Texas lawmaker lashed out on social media after a resurfaced video showed Mamdani eating rice with his hands—an age-old tradition in many cultures around the world.
“Civilized people in America don’t eat like this,” Gill posted on X (formerly Twitter). “If you refuse to adopt Western customs, go back to the third world.”
Civilized people in America don’t eat like this.
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) June 30, 2025
If you refuse to adopt Western customs, go back to the Third World. https://t.co/TYQkcr0nFE
The viral clip, originally recorded in 2023 during an interview with Uncivilized Media, features Mamdani eating with his hands while reflecting on his upbringing in Uganda and South Africa—and how it shaped his empathy toward the Palestinian struggle. In the interview, Mamdani noted, “When you grow up as someone, especially in the Third World, you have a very different understanding of the Palestinian struggle. It is one that is framed in terms of empathy and solidarity.”
The act of eating with one’s hands, commonplace across South Asian, Middle Eastern, and African cultures, became the unlikely flashpoint of a political firestorm.
Mamdani, born in Kampala, Uganda, to a Punjabi mother and a father of Indian descent, immigrated to the United States as a child. After spending his early years in South Africa, he moved to New York at age seven and became a U.S. citizen in 2018. If elected this November, he would be the first New York City mayor of Indian heritage.
His progressive platform, which includes calls to dismantle Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—an agency he has labeled “fascist”—has drawn fierce backlash from Republicans and Trump loyalists.
Former ICE director Tom Homan dismissed Mamdani’s position with a curt “Good luck with that,” warning of stepped-up federal enforcement in sanctuary cities should Donald Trump return to the White House.
Other GOP figures didn’t hold back either. Representative Andy Ogles labeled Mamdani “an antisemitic, socialist, communist” and suggested revoking his citizenship. Rep. Nancy Mace went a step further, launching a public poll on whether Mamdani should be deported.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump personally targeted Mamdani, calling him a “100% Communist Lunatic” and ridiculing both his appearance and political beliefs.
Stephen Miller, the former Trump advisor and a staunch anti-immigration figure, framed Mamdani’s political rise as a cautionary tale. “This is what happens when immigration goes unchecked,” he warned, accusing Democrats of promoting a dangerous, far-left agenda.
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