Even CNN Nails Mamdani in a Brutal Takedown of His Hope to Arrest Netanyahu

As we reported, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had delusions of grandeur when he told a New York Times interviewer he was consulting with his legal department about how/whether they could arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the city for a U.N. meeting in September.

Mamdani says he is in talks to potentially have Israeli PM Netanyahu arrested when he visits NYC for a UN meeting: "I believe Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He is a war criminal who has been charged by the ICC. That's an active conversation with our legal department." pic.twitter.com/lzvw1a3ACP
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 20, 2026

Mamdani was immediately leveled by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz.

Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu’s in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen:
1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,
2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t,
3. head-of-state immunity applies, &
4. federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.
This is pure political theater.

That's exactly what it's about: a performative theater kid appealing to the leftist base.

President Donald Trump also pulverized Mamdani and said any planned arrest of Netanyahu wouldn't happen in any "way, shape, or form."

President Trump Just Squashed Mamdani’s Fever Dream of Arresting Netanyahu

How bad is it for the radical mayor?

Now, even CNN is stomping all over Mamdani's desire.

CNN's Brianna Keilar asked CNN legal analyst Elie Honig to give it a "reality check," asking if Mamdani could do it, and he just eviscerated Mamdani.

CNN's senior legal analyst Elie Honig SHUTS DOWN Zohran Mamdani’s threat to arrest Netanyahu on live TV.

You know it's bad when even CNN calls the threat "a joke."

KEILAR: "Can Mamdani have Netanyahu arrested?"

HONIG: "Absolutely not. It is utterly RIDICULOUS for the mayor of… pic.twitter.com/miFfQdwVoq
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 21, 2026

"Absolutely not. It is utterly ridiculous for the mayor of New York City to even suggest that he might have the authority to order the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu, or any visiting foreign head of state," Honig replied.

"First of all, the mayor of New York City has zero law enforcement authority. He does not tell the Manhattan D.A., the NYPD, who to arrest, who to indict," Honig explained, as one of the other panelists laughed at how dumb Mamdani's position was.

Honig then excoriated the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant upon which Mamdani was relying and said it has zero validity in the U.S.

Finally, he noted the conduct of foreign diplomacy was entirely up to the federal government, not a local mayor.

"I know the mayor is having his best lawyers look at this. Let me save them some time: you do not have the authority to do this," Honig said with a final skewer of the idiocy.

When even CNN is running away from a leftist, you know just how bad his position truly is.

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