Minneapolis City Council Member Aisha Chughtai is facing criticism for a profane rant she delivered while speaking at Uptown Porchfest over the weekend.
“I want to talk to you about my friend, my brother, Omar Fateh, the next Zohran Mamdani right here in Minneapolis,” said Chughtai in a video she posted to Instagram. “We’re going to transform this city because f-ck Jacob Frey, f-ck fascism, f-ck Donald Trump.”
Chughtai, the first Muslim woman and youngest person elected to the Minneapolis City Council, is serving her first term as a city councilmember and is running for reelection in Minneapolis’ Ward 10. She has been a vocal supporter of socialist Minneapolis mayoral candidate Sen. Omar Fateh and serves as the council’s vice president.
“In this city we believe that everybody belongs and that everybody matters,” Chughtai said during her speech. She alleged that the city of Minneapolis mistreats homeless people and “people who come from undocumented families.”
Lydia Millard, who is running against Chughtai for the Ward 10 seat, called her words “toxic” in a Facebook post. “I believe you can be tough without being toxic,” Millard said. “Screaming obscenities at the Mayor doesn’t solve problems — it only fuels division.”
“We know this playbook: when you can’t win on ideas and on your record, you run on hate. And we know too well that this kind of language isn’t just ugly, it’s dangerous,” she wrote.
Three Minneapolis City Council members also released a joint statement condemning Chughtai’s actions. The statement, released by Andrea Jenkins, Linea Palmisano, and Michael Rainville, called on Chughtai to apologize “to the mayor, to the Council colleagues she has been trusted to lead, and to Minneapolis residents who deserve better from their leaders.”
“The Council Vice President’s outrageous remarks are an extraordinary breach of decorum. In our time on the City Council, we have never seen a Council Member — much less Council Leadership — use such inflammatory and disrespectful rhetoric toward a sitting mayor,” the statement said.
Chughtai is endorsed by the SEIU, Democratic Socialists of America, and Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
