Sandy Fitzgerald continued Newsmax’s meltdowns over New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani in a Jan. 2 article:
Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor, is under fire for immediately revoking all late-term executive orders issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams, including protections for the city’s Jewish community.
Mamdani on Thursday revoked all Adams’ orders dating from Sept. 26, 2024, the date the former mayor was indicted on federal bribery and campaign finance charges, stating that he was making the changes to allow a “fresh start for the incoming administration.”
Israel’s foreign ministry on Friday accused Mamdani of antisemitism because of his moves.
[…]William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told the Jewish News Syndicate that the decision is a “troubling indicator of the direction in which he is leading the city, just one day at the helm.”
Other Newsmax denizens quickly piled on:
- Mamdani Rescinds Adams Executive Orders on Israel, Antisemitism
- Morton Klein Condemns Mamdani Order on Antisemitism
- Jewish Groups Press Mamdani on Antisemitism
Newsmax, however, waited until later in the day to bother to seek out Mamdani’s reaction, and even then it was only a wire story:
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday defended his revocation of executive orders that his predecessor Eric Adams issued after being indicted in 2024 on federal charges of accepting illegal campaign contributions.
The dozen orders Adams issued since his indictment included a directive to allow federal agents, including immigration officers, to use an office on Rikers Island, the city’s main jail. That order was later struck down by a court.
The new mayor also struck down executive orders that Adams had portrayed as addressing antisemitism. Mamdani, a Muslim who some have accused of antisemitism over his support of Palestinians in Gaza, told reporters Friday that he would fund measures to prevent hate crimes, and would make protection of Jewish New Yorkers a focus of his administration.
Mamdani recalled Sept. 26, 2024, the day when Adams was charged with accepting illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel from Turkish nationals seeking to influence him, as “a moment when many New Yorkers lost even more faith in New York City politics and the ability of city government to actually prioritize the needs of the public, as opposed to the needs of the person.”
Weirdly, Newsmax didn’t bring up this argument in previous articles on rescinding the orders. Instead, itws hauled out its favorite pro-Trump hack to opine:
Veteran political strategist Dick Morris told Newsmax on Friday that newly inaugurated New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is charting a course that will ultimately undo his administration.
He said that critics should allow Mamdani’s policies and actions to expose their consequences without interference.
Morris, an adviser to President Donald Trump, offered a blunt assessment of the new democratic socialist mayor on “Rob Schmitt Tonight” after Mamdani’s inauguration speech and first moves in office.
Asked for his take on Mamdani and what may come next, Morris said the mayor is already moving in directions he described as dangerous and destabilizing.
“Well, I think that he is moving obviously in exactly the wrong direction, heightening antisemitism, decreasing the protection that Jews have, and basically authorizing his administration to move against Israel. But I do believe that the correct way to counter Mamdani is to give him some rope and let him hang himself.”
This one ignored Mamdani’s defense as well.