Anyone buying this?
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defended his decision to host controversial activist Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion, saying the move was rooted in protecting First Amendment rights.
“As the mayor of New York City, I believe it is my responsibility to fight for the safety and for the rights of each and every New Yorker,” Mamdani said Thursday.
“[T]he only charge that was levied against him was the exercising of his First Amendment rights,” he added. “And I have long maintained that he and any New Yorker should be able to exercise their First Amendment rights in this city without fear of the kind of punishment that was inflicted upon him.”
Sure, Zohran.
Mamdani — the first Muslim mayor of New York City — and his wife, Rama Duwaji, hosted Khalil for an iftar dinner this week at the mayoral residence.
Khalil is a former graduate student at Columbia University who became a prominent figure in campus protests tied to opposition to Israel and criticism of the immigration crackdown under President Trump.
The dinner sparked backlash from pro-Israel advocates and conservatives after Mamdani shared images of the gathering on social media.
Lishi Baker, a Jewish senior at Columbia and former head of the pro-Israel campus group Aryeh, sharply criticized the mayor’s decision. “[Mamdani] is glorifying and lifting up this pro-Hamas, anti-American protester for a meal at Gracie Mansion,” Baker said.
The White House also weighed in on the controversy.
“No one should be feting the anti-American, pro-terrorist activities of Mahmoud Khalil, who made his name as a ringleader of violent anti-American and anti-Semitic university protests that harmed American foreign policy interests,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.
More over at The New York Post:
Mamdani claims he was defending free speech by hosting divisive Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion https://t.co/zpnIVKvRFX pic.twitter.com/fUOOixGSDu
— New York Post (@nypost) March 12, 2026
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