new york city

'Political stunt': Trump admin rages at NYC for directly defying his Pride flag order

New York City elected officials and activists re-raised the LGBTQ+ pride flag on Thursday at the Stonewall National Monument in defiance of a Trump administration edict that led to the iconic emblem’s removal. In response, the U.S. Department of the Interior called re-raising the flag a “political stunt.”

The flag’s removal became a national flashpoint after the National Park Service quietly took it down over the weekend from the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement, drawing hundreds of locals to protest this week and prompting elected leaders to vow to raise it again.

PIX11 News’ Henry Rosoff reported that elected officials had aimed to add the flag to a pole that was currently flying the American flag, wanting to “avoid a conflict” because they “believe they’ve been baited by the Trump administration.”

As the pride flag was re-raised, one attendee, USA Today reported, “attempted to pull down the adjacent U.S. flag, as some chanted ‘take it down’ and ‘burn the American flag.’ The local elected officials left immediately after the pride flag was raised and did not give speeches.”

Democratic New York State Senator Erik Bottcher told MS NOW on Thursday, “We’re going up against the federal government, and we’re going to continue doing it until we win.”

Earlier, he had written, “removing the Pride flag from Stonewall is not a minor change. It is erasure. It is an act of exclusion. It sends a message that LGBTQ+ visibility is negotiable, even at the very site where our community fought back. Stonewall is sacred ground. The Pride flag is not partisan. It is history. It is belonging. And we will not be intimidated into silence.”

Other elected officials, including Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the Congressional Equality Caucus, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, and others have publicly condemned the removal of the flag this week.

The U.S. Department of the Interior issued a scathing statement in opposition to the flag being raised again.

“Hundreds of families in New York City went without power during this year’s severe cold weather, people are being found dead on the streets, and trash has piled up so high it towers over city residents,” the statement reads, as ABC Eyewitness News reported. “This is Mayor Mamdani and city officials’ New York City. While today’s political stunt is a distraction from their recent deadly failures, it would be a better use of their time to get the trash buildup off city streets, ensure there are no more avoidable deaths, and work to keep the power on for the people of New York City. Today’s political pageantry shows how utterly incompetent and misaligned the New York City officials are with the problems their city is facing.”

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

'The GOP will lose the midterms': MAGA 'thrown' by Trump's praise of NYC mayor-elect

President Donald Trump's complimentary tone toward New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani caught many Republicans off guard — and some are worried about what that could mean for the GOP's hopes in next year's pivotal midterm elections.

"I expect to be helping him, not hurting him," Trump said, adding that he would feel "really" comfortable living in New York City with Mamdani as mayor.

"Especially after the meeting, absolutely," the president said.

On Friday, Fox News took note of numerous young White House staffers awaiting Mamdani's arrival. Business Insider reporter Bryan Metzger tweeted: "it says *something* about Mamdani that a bunch of 20-something Trump admin staffers were camped out hoping to catch a glimpse of his arrival at the [White House]."

Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman observed that the president "showering praise on Mamdani in the White House may throw House Republicans for a loop."

"The House GOP has signaled their entire 2026 campaign plan is to tie Democrats to Mamdani," Sherman wrote.

DC Examiner conservative columnist Tiana Lowe Doescher offered a different theory, suggesting that while Trump may not be enamored with Mamdani's politics, he nonetheless views him as a kindred spirit given that the president remains a New Yorker at heart.

"Saying this as someone who thinks Zohran Mamdani is an economically illiterate communist who has never held a real job in his life," Doescher wrote on X. "[T]he reason Trump is so chummy w/ a guy who hates him is because game recognizes game. Trump & Mamdani are both charismatic TV stars who love NYC."

In response to a post from conservative podcaster Clay Travis — who referred to the Trump-Mamdani meeting as a "bromance" — MAGA influencer Laura Loomer was apoplectic, writing: "So are we just going to normalize communism?"

"The GOP will lose the midterms," Loomer lamented.

"What is the GOP going to campaign on ahead of the midterms if the GOP is saying Mamdani is good?" Loomer added in a separate post.

New York Times Michael M. Grynbaum noticed a quip from Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, who said: "I think JD Vance is jealous."

"I know influencers want to try to make 'Trump owned Mamdani' a thing for engagement, but given it was Trump who said he had his mind changed and that he now thinks Mamdani will do a good job, that's not really viable. Is what it is," tweeted Red State writer Bonchie. "Mamdani got what he wanted."

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

'All of them are sedated': Fox host insults one million NYC voters in on-air meltdown

A Fox News co-host unleashed a furious tirade against New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and the more than one million Americans who voted for him in Tuesday’s election.

Emily Compagno — who recently blamed liberals for Cracker Barrel’s logo change — described the incoming mayor as a “blatant antisemite,” a “chameleon,” and an “absolute joke” whose “communism” will ruin the city.

“When you say, ‘Oh, I’m so excited for this city to have an immigrant mayor,’ I don’t care who he is,” Compagno declared. “He is a blatant antisemite who’s never had a job in his life, who enjoys a royal wedding in Uganda, who lives in a Chelsea multimillion-dollar apartment thanks to the hard work of people that he knows nothing about.”

When pressed to explain why he won, Compagno told her co-hosts, “I think that the million people who voted for him were because he was viral. Clearly, all of them are sedated, and they are seduced by the clickbait.”

“They have TikTok,” interjected co-host Brian Kilmeade.

“Him jumping in the Long Island Sound, or the Hudson, or whatever it is, with this cheesy smile, of course, he’s gonna quote Eugene Debs out of the gate,” Compagno said, referring to early 20th-century Socialist presidential candidate Mamdani quoted in his speech Tuesday night.

“Of course, he’s gonna start shouting out of the gate. Because what we have seen, over his campaign, was a chameleon. We have anecdotal — people who went to college with him — that said, ‘Yeah, he was a drinking bro.’ He did whatever it was to be popular.”

“And now his insides are coming out,” she continued. “He won the election because people are enthralled by TikTok, not because anyone actually believed his policies will drive up affordability. That’s why everyone left.”

“I consider him an absolute joke, and I look forward to him totally failing, but I am horrified at the prospect of his policies, and his communism, and his antisemitism spreading even further across this rock.”

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

'As racist as anything Trump said': Cuomo slammed for 'odious' comment about Mamdani

Andrew Cuomo, the Democrat running as an independent in the New York City mayoral race, is under fire for remarks he made in an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.

Describing the Democratic nominee, State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, as “totally out of sync with New Yorkers” and “how New Yorkers feel,” Cuomo — who has been trailing by double-digits in most polls — told Bartiromo that Mamdani “is dual citizenship” and “was a citizen of Uganda.”

Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to New York City when he was seven.

“He just doesn’t understand the New York culture, the New York values, what 9/11 meant, what entrepreneurial growth means, opportunity means, why people came here,” Cuomo alleged.

“Well, this is very important, because next year, we’ll be 25 years since 9/11, I believe,” Bartiromo told Cuomo. “And if he’s the mayor, how is he going to treat all of those people who are still in mourning, from losing their lives, 3,000 people?”

“I mean, all of the first responders that we lost on 9/11, I was there at the New York Stock Exchange,” she noted. “I guess I’m wondering if you’re expecting New York to look more like London? You go to London right now, and it is largely Muslim. Women are completely covered up. I don’t know if you expect, if Mamdani were to be in charge, him to change the look of New York as well.”

“Look,” said Cuomo, the former New York State governor who was forced to resign amid sexual harassment allegations and a damning report released by the Office of State Attorney General Letitia James, “he is out of sync with how New Yorkers feel.”

“I just think he doesn’t get it, you know?”

“His parents owned a mansion in Uganda,” Cuomo continued. “He spent a lot of time there. He just doesn’t understand the New York culture, the New York values, what 9/11 meant, what entrepreneurial growth means, opportunity means, why people came here.”

Critics blasted the former governor.

“What an odious thing to say,” remarked author Rebecca Fishbein, who has written for The New York Times. “I hope New York Jews understand that the dual loyalty trope is used against them, too. If Cuomo feels comfortable attacking Mamdani in this way, what’s to stop him from turning on NY’s Jewish pop[ulation] when it stops being politically advantageous for him to support?”

“Politician who resigned last position in disgrace is desperate for comeback so using religious bigotry,” commented Brian Kaylor, author of “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists.”

“Cuomo and Bartiromo, two Italian Americans, repurposing the same type of xenophobia, bigotry, and religious prejudice that was used to discriminate against Italian Catholic immigrants,” observed Ron Cassie, a senior editor at Baltimore magazine.

“This is easily as racist as anything Trump has said,” noted attorney Noah Popp.

Historian Paul Cohen, a faculty member at The University of Toronto, wrote, “there is here no moral compass, no human substance, no political commitments, no attachment to virtue, no sense of character, no nagging voice of conscience … there is only the hunger for power, and the readiness to pay whatever price necessary to acquire it.”

So here's Andrew Cuomo reacting to Maria Bartiromo wondering if Mamdani will "change the look of New York" and have Muslim women "completely covered up," telling her that Mamdani "doesn't understand New York culture" because he has "dual citizenship" and "he's a citizen of Uganda."

[image or embed]
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona.bsky.social) Oct 29, 2025 at 11:50 AM

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

'He's very concerned': Trump planning 'audacious intervention' in upcoming election

Advisers to President Donald Trump have reportedly considered offering New York City Mayor Eric Adams (I) a position in the administration to bolster former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (I) chances of defeating Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in November's high-profile mayoral election. Cuomo is now running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary held earlier this year.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that discussions have also explored whether the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, might be offered an administration role.

According to the report, these talks within Trump’s circle have been ongoing for weeks:

“The discussions within Mr. Trump’s orbit about making a potentially audacious intervention date back weeks — and it is unclear if they will ultimately amount to anything," the Times reported. "But the topic has taken on added urgency in New York in recent days as an already chaotic race steams into the last stretch of the campaign season.”

It remains unclear whether a specific role has been proposed or whether Adams would accept. The mayor has stated he plans to remain in the race despite polling in fourth place.

The report also mentioned that major New York real‑estate executives and Cuomo allies are involved in discussions. They are reportedly exploring ways to slow Mamdani’s momentum, possibly by persuading Adams or other candidates to drop out in exchange for public or private‑sector positions.

The report highlighted remarks from billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, who told reporters he spoke with Trump on Sunday and believed the race’s dynamics could shift soon:

“He’s very concerned,” Catsimatidis said. “This is for all the tea in China. This is serious.”

Most top Republicans in Washington view Mamdani as a convenient foil to broadly criticize Democrats in a difficult midterm climate — but Trump appears to differ, according to the report.

The report further noted that although Trump moved his residency to Florida in 2019, he retains property in New York and remains sympathetic to the concerns of wealthy New Yorkers. Trump has observed that he performed better in the city during the 2024 election than in his previous campaigns.

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

'Declaring a war on America': Trump blasted for saying he may send military to more cities

In what would be an unprecedented act and an escalation of his current occupation of Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump announced that he is willing to deploy U.S. Armed Forces to cities including Chicago and New York, after sending thousands of National Guard troops and FBI, DEA, DHS, ATF, and ICE agents to patrol the streets of the nation’s capital.

The President’s remarks came shortly after the Pentagon announced it will arm the 2,000 National Guard troops currently in Washington, D.C.

Deploying the U.S. Military to a major American city in peacetime—without a national emergency, without invoking the Insurrection Act, and without a governor’s request—would risk violating the Posse Comitatus Act.

“We haven’t had to bring in the regular military, which we’re willing to do, if we have to,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, speaking about his occupation of Washington, D.C. “And after we do this, we’ll go to another location, and we’ll make it safe also. We’re going to make our country very safe, we’re going to make our cities very, very safe.”

“Chicago’s a mess,” Trump charged. “You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent, and we’ll straighten one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough.”

“And the people in Chicago,” Trump claimed without offering evidence, “are screaming for us to come. They’re wearing red hats, just like this one. But they’re wearing red hats.”

“African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please, please, President Trump, come to Chicago. Please.'”

“I did great with the Black vote, as you know, and they want something to happen.”

Trump won just 15% of Black voters in 2024. 83% voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.

“So I think Chicago will be our next, and then we’ll help with New York.”

Critics blasted the President’s remarks.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker wrote: “Things People are Begging for: 1. Cheaper groceries 2. No Medicaid and SNAP cuts 3. Release of the Epstein Files.”

“Things People are NOT begging for: 1. An authoritarian power grab of major cities.”

Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton added: “If Trump wants to take his ego trip on tour, he picked the wrong city. Chicago doesn’t bow down to kings or roll out the red carpet for dictators. As a Black woman from the South Side, I can assure you @realdonaldtrump, your political circus isn’t welcome here.”

“Chicago isn’t going to sit down for this s—,” commented attorney Seth Abramson. “It’s illegal, it’s un-American, and it comes very close to declaring a war on America.”

“He said it. Chicago is next,” wrote former journalist Kat Abughazaleh. “This is an authoritarian order being pushed by a racist wannabe-dictator to terrorize one of America’s bluest and most diverse cities.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

'We have tremendous power': Trump hints at using federal authority against local officials

President Donald Trump claimed the White House has legal authority to run parts of the country including Washington, D.C. and New York City, especially should he oppose its elected leaders. His remarks were another attack on the nation’s largest city, which his Transportation Secretary also targeted earlier on Tuesday.

Trump told reporters, “we have tremendous power at the White House to run places where we have to.”

“We could run D.C.” he alleged. “I mean, we’re looking at D.C. We don’t want crime in D.C. We want the city to run well.” Hey also claimed that the White House is currently “testing” running D.C.

Washington, D.C. and its 700,000 residents have an elected city council and mayor. While Congress maintains some control over the nation’s capital, a complete federal government takeover of a city would be unprecedented. Presidents have, at times, had to send in the National Guard, but never to permanently occupy and run a local government.

Trump added that his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, “is working very closely with the mayor and they’re doing alright. I mean, in the sense that we would run it so good, it would be run so proper, we’d get the best person to run it.”

“The crime would be down to a minimal, would be much less, you know, we’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you. We want we want a capital that’s run flawlessly and it wouldn’t be hard for us to do it.”

If attempted, a federal takeover could raise serious concerns about voter disenfranchisement and further inflame opposition from advocates of D.C. statehood.

Trump also attacked Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s Democratic nominee for mayor, as “a man who’s not very capable, in my opinion, other than he’s got a good line of b—s—.”

“I can tell you this,” Trump continued, I used to say, ‘We will not ever be a socialist country,’ right? Well, I’ll say it again. We’re not gonna have if a communist get elected to run New York, it can never be the same, but we have tremendous power at the White House to run places where we have to.”

Trump has previously threatened Mamdani “with arrest, denaturalization and removal from the country while repeatedly branding him a communist,” according to The Independent.

Watch the video below or at this link.

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

'Supremely racist': MAGA rep slammed for call to revoke mayoral candidate's US citizenship

Rep. Andy Ogles (R‑Tenn.) faced criticism Thursday after demanding that Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, be denaturalized and deported.

In a post on the social platform X, Ogles shared a letter he wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi making that demand.

"Zohran 'little muhammad' Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings," he wrote in the X post.

The Tennessee Republican's remarks come two days after the 33-year-old Mamdani won the Democratic mayoral primary, defeating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Kknowxille state representative Gloria Johnson responded to Ogles X post and wrote: "Tennessee Santos over here competing for Tennessee’s biggest unAmerican bigot - this is not going to be an easy contest."

Former Ohio state senator Nina Turner reacted to Ogles' post by sharing a screenshot with the definition of the word "fascism," writing: "To be VERY clear, this is fascism."

Jemela Hill, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, said: "At any one point when you wrote this did you stop and think, damn that’s racist?"

Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Michael Blake said: "Between this Andy and Cuomo, the hate towards Zohran for WINNING really has them all in their feelings."

"It's hard to believe that we have a Representative who doesn't know the difference between Communism and Socialism, and how they are not compatible," wrote a user in response to Ogles' X post.

"Ogles believes the New York City mayor race is the #1 most important thing in the world today for his constituents in Tennessee, more important than anything that is happening in their own state," said another user.

Another user said: "Boy we've really let these people get comfortable being supremely racist without any fear of consequence."

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

'It's working!' New Yorkers celebrate as Trump officially loses legal battle against city

New York City has scored a short-term legal win in its clash with President Donald Trump over the city's congestion pricing plan for Manhattan, with U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman issuing an order Tuesday that temporarily halts the federal government's efforts.

The Trump administration had attempted to block the plan by threatening to cut off federal funding and withhold approvals for key transportation projects unless the toll program was scrapped.

However, Judge Liman sided with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in a ruling issued Tuesday afternoon.

According to Bloomberg, the ruling "means the program — designed to reduce gridlock and pollution and raise money to modernize the city’s transit system — will almost certainly continue as the legal battle proceeds," the report said.

"It helps reduce uncertainty over how the nation’s largest public transportation system will pay to modernize a more than 100-year-old network," the outlet reported.

The City reported that shortly before issuing the order, the judge said: “Is there going to be rule of law in this country so that people launch public works projects without the rug being pulled out from under their feet?”

In February, the MTA filed a lawsuit against Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration following Trump’s directive to halt toll collection below Manhattan’s 60th Street starting in March.

Despite several missed shutdown deadlines, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and MTA leaders have insisted the congestion pricing plan remains active unless a judge intervenes.

Meanwhile, the Tuesday ruling sparked strong reactions from users across social media platforms.

Florida-based journalist Peter Schorsch wrote: "I am just a tourist to NYC, but this [congestion pricing] program has really made Midtown more hospitable, more walkable."

"Sorry, Sean — New York isn't going back to terrible traffic," wrote the account Transportation Alternatives.

"Leave NYC congestion tax alone. It’s working! @realDonaldTrump," wrote a user.

Earlier on Tuesday, Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement on X that Trump and Duffy were attempting to "blackmail NYC into ending the popular congestion pricing program."

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web

FBI investigating NYC mayor’s frequent free upgrades when flying Turkish Airlines: report

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has been fending off mounting allegations of corruption in regard to his dealings with Turkey since November. Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the mayor's campaign regarding alleged free flight upgrades from the airline partially owned by the Turkish government.

The New York Times reported Friday that the FBI is reportedly looking into Adams' flight upgrades as part of its broader investigation into whether the Turkish government funneled foreign money into the mayor's campaign war chest. The bureau is also looking into any possible foreign influence on the Adams administration's alleged pressure campaign on the Fire Department of New York to sign off on the Turkish consulate's plans to construct a high-rise building in Manhattan in defiance of safety concerns.

Adams is accused of receiving numerous upgrades to flights on Turkish Airlines to its highest available accommodation, with tickets at that level costing approximately $3,400 per passenger, each way. Adams has said that Turkish Airlines — of which 50% is owned by the Turkish government's sovereign wealth fund — is his preferred method of flying. Those upgrades were reportedly granted on trips both when Adams was borough president of Brooklyn and after he was elected mayor of America's largest city.

In a statement, Adams' attorney, Brendan McGuire, insisted the mayor did not engage in any wrongdoing and that he has been fully transparent in campaign finance reports.

"As borough president, the mayor consistently disclosed his official travel to Turkey, did not receive any improper upgrades and did nothing inappropriate in exchange for an upgrade,” McGuire stated. “Speculation is not evidence. We look forward to a just and timely conclusion to this investigation."

Aside from Adams, investigators are also looking to the mayor's close associates and those in his inner circle. However, the Times reported that the mayor's relationship with the airline "has extended beyond that of simply being a passenger," reportedly attending several meetings with company representatives.

"Some of those interactions took place in the presence of Turkish business leaders and diplomats with their own close ties to Turkey’s government and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan," the Times reported.

The news of the FBI's probe into Adams' airline ticket upgrades comes roughly a month after the FBI raided two homes owned by Winnie Greco, who is an aide that helped the mayor raise money for his 2021 campaign. Greco, who is Adams' director of Asian affairs, has been placed on leave after authorities had to call an ambulance for her during the raid. She will reportedly be placed on unpaid leave after using up her sick days.

In 2023, Adams' top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, also had her home raided by the FBI as part of its investigation into alleged corruption. As of April, the DOJ has not announced any charges filed against Adams or any of his aides.

"I am not worried. I've lived by one rule that I share with everyone. Follow the rules, follow the law. I did this my entire life as a law enforcement officer and I'm going to continue to do that," Adams told CBS.

From Your Site Articles

Related Articles Around the Web