New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji is scheduled to travel to Syria and Lebanon on 20 September with a taxpayer-funded entourage of NYPD bodyguards. The overseas trip will see Mayor Zohran Mamdani's wife venture into regions the US State Department explicitly warns Americans not to visit due to dangerous conditions.
In case you missed it, this high-security travel arrangement comes shortly after the 29-year-old Syrian-American artist travelled overseas last month without any police escort. A source familiar with the security detail confirmed the first lady personally requested NYPD protection for this upcoming journey. She describes herself as a Syrian illustrator and her parents are originally from Damascus.
