President Trump Fires Back as Mamdani Doubles Down

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is escalating his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, again raising the possibility of his arrest if he visits New York City and calling him “an architect of genocide.”

President Donald Trump fired back, saying there is “no way” Netanyahu would be arrested.

As reported by CBS News:

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is doubling down on his promise to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives for the United Nations General Assembly in a few weeks.

[His] remarks have generated a firestorm of criticism.

"My administration will follow all applicable local laws"

With the General Assembly due to convene in less than two months, the mayor is refusing to back off his insistence that he is involved in active conversation with his lawyers about arresting Israel's leader when he steps foot in New York City.

"I believe that when someone is charged with an International Criminal Court warrant, it's something that should be taken seriously, whether it's Benjamin Netanyahu or it's Vladimir Putin or whomever else," Mamdani said. "What I've also made clear is that my administration will follow all applicable local laws."

As CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer reports, there really is no local law governing the arrest of a foreign head of state. Federal law dictates foreign policy and diplomatic relations, and any government official coming to the UN is protected by absolute head-of-state diplomatic immunity.

What that ultimately means is Mamdani cannot arrest Netanyahu, and if he did federal agents would have to intervene, Kramer reported.

Kean University Provost David Birdsell said the U.S. does not recognize the International Criminal Court over American citizens, and in addition the city of New York has no say.

"The federal government gets to determine the foreign policy of the United States and certainly not cities," Birdsell said. "It's very clear the mayor does not have the authority to arrest."

President Trump took to Truth Social to respond to Mamdani’s threats to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu, stating:

Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America. He is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which recently killed 52,000 innocent protestors, and has spent the last 47 years killing American Soldiers, and others. The only ones that should be arrested are the people that led Iran into this unprecedented SPIRAL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, something that should have been dealt with years ago, by previous Presidents!

We told you about Mayor Mamdani and his threats to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His words were met with a deluge of criticism from both the Right and the Left, but that wasn't where it ended. While Mamdani was holding a completely unrelated press conference, he was asked about his statement and he didn't back down.

And again, when he was asked about his controversial statements to the New York Times, Mamdani did not change his tune. But Mamdani has zero authority to dictate international policy. His attorneys can look into the laws all they want, but there is no reality where a mayor of any city can order the arrest of a foreign leader.

U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Ric Grenell joined us on the broadcast to share his thoughts on Mayor Mamdani’s plan to arrest the Israeli prime minister:

The mayor of New York City is a radical. He's causing problems by having this type of policy. It's ridiculous. I'm thankful President Trump came out and said it's not going to happen. Mayor Mamdani needs to stop trying to do foreign policy and concentrate on New York City and crime and delivering services. That's what a mayor is supposed to do.

He needs to stop pretending like he's a Middle East expert . . . He really hates Israel. He hates Netanyahu. He's a radical, and he's a dangerous radical, and I hope that the people of New York City are seeing just how radical he is.

The bottom line is New York is home to the United Nations, and this is a bad look for him and NYC. Mayor Mamdani should focus on getting his own house in order and stay out of foreign policy.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more analysis of Mayor Mamdani doubling down on his threat to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as more with Ric Grenell. We were also joined by our longtime friend, pastor, attorney, and writer Clayton Wood to discuss a number of topics, including Mamdani and the situation in Iran and the Middle East.

Watch the full broadcast below: