While a few people may be looking to New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani to kiss their rear ends and magically fix everything, most Americans can spot an underqualified empty suit from a mile away. Mamdani’s rise wasn’t the result of competence or a proven record — it was the product of a perfect political storm and a laundry list of absurd promises, from solving the city’s unaffordable housing crisis to lowering food prices to declaring free bus and subway travel by executive decree.
On the surface, this is straight out of the Leftist Politics 101 playbook: promise free stuff to the masses and hope no one asks who’s paying for it. But look closer, and it becomes painfully obvious we’re dealing with someone who isn’t just ideologically extreme — he’s completely detached from reality.
During the campaign, Mamdani pandered shamelessly to his pro-Hamas cheerleaders by vowing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he ever set foot in New York — a fantasy-line promise meant to thrill the radical fringe rather than address a single real-world problem facing the city:
Which is why his repeated promise to order the Police Department to arrest the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, if he were to come to New York City while Mamdani was mayor, has confounded several of Mamdani’s allies — and fed his enemies.
Mamdani has said he would be honoring the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court charging Netanyahu with crimes against humanity in Gaza. But the United States does not recognize the authority of the I.C.C., and legal experts regard such an arrest as most likely illegal. More to the point, the act could prompt something like a constitutional crisis with the Police Department. Trump has already promised that he would intercede.
What Mamdani is talking about are the International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — warrants pushed by the same globalist institutions that always seem to look the other way when terrorists spill innocent Israeli blood but spring into action the moment Israel defends itself. The charges stem from Israel’s crushing response to Hamas after the barbaric October 7, 2023, massacre of Israeli civilians — an attack so depraved it shocked even war-hardened observers.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has an open invitation to visit New York City from Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, and he’s indicated he intends to make the trip:
Netanyahu dismissed any threat of arrest in an interview on Thursday with pro-Israel Australian journalist Erin Molan, insisting he was “not afraid” of travelling to New York.
He used the interview to belittle Mamdani’s political experience and activism, calling him “a young, uneducated leader” and attacking his Democratic Socialist views.
Mamdani doubled down on his threat Friday in an interview on the “Politics Unusual” show hosted by Morgan McKay:
WATCH:
? NEW: Zohran Mamdani on Whether He Would Arrest Netanyahu if He Attends His Inauguration
“This is a city of international law … and one that should honor the warrants that have been issued by the International Criminal Court, be it for Vladimir Putin or Benjamin Netanyahu.” pic.twitter.com/E1TPkEC1Np
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) November 15, 2025
MCKAY: Now, you and Mayor Eric Adams, your teams have met to discuss the transition. You two haven’t met yet. When do you plan to meet?
MAMDANI: He’s currently abroad, when he returns we’ll be having that meeting.
MCKAY: So he’s in Israel, he’s in Israel today. He seems to be needling you a little bit in these final days. In certain policy moves that he’s been making. He also invited the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come to New York City on your first day, when you’re being sworn in. You’ve said in the past that you want to arrest Netanyahu for alleged war crimes. Do you plan to arrest Netanyahu on your first day?
MAMDANI: So, my plan on my first day is to become sworn in as the next Mayor of New York City and deliver on the “affordability agenda.” I’ve said time and again, this is a city of international law, a city that believes in those values and one that should honor the warrants that have been issued by the International Criminal Court, be it for Vladimir Putin or Benjamin Netanyahu. And I’ve also said that, unlike Donald Trump, I’m not going to create my own set of laws, and what that means is exhausting every single legal option. Now the Mayor is free to travel where he would like to spend the final weeks and months of his administration and he’s free to speak to whomever he would like to. My focus is actually on delivering for New Yorkers; that’s what I’m going to be doing.
Factually, the United States does not recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court, and anything the ICC issues — warrants, opinions, threats, whatever — carries zero legal weight here. New York City, contrary to Mamdani’s fantasies, is governed by U.S. law, not whatever international tribunal his far-left base is swooning over.
And Mamdani might want to catch up on recent history: back in February, President Trump signed an executive order slapping sanctions on ICC officials involved in targeting Netanyahu. In other words, the U.S. government has made it abundantly clear where it stands — and it’s not with the Hague bureaucrats Mamdani is trying to impress.
Once he’s sworn in, he’s going to learn quickly that his performative “Netanyahu arrest” talk is nothing more than bluster, completely detached from legal reality. That said, should he actually try to arrest Netanyahu, it’s certainly going to be a popcorn-worthy moment.
