Mamdani says he told Trump he disagreed with ban of CNN, MSNOW and POLITICO
Mamdani says he told Trump he disagreed with ban of CNN, MSNOW and POLITICO
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During his meeting with President Donald Trump today, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made it clear he disagreed with the president’s ban of certain media outlets and warned him there would be no restrictions during Monday’s events.
“What I said is that I believe in a free press, and I believe in the importance of engaging in questions from all, no matter whether they are based in a compliment or on a critique,” Mamdani told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour during a sit-down interview Monday. “You saw that we spoke to representatives from CNN, from MS NOW, from Politico, from Crain’s, from The City Reporter, from a wide variety, and that is something that will continue under my administration, because I believe it’s a critical part of the fourth estate being able to do its job.”
The mayor reflected on his own relationship with the press, saying he remains open to all outlets, even ones that are frequently critical of him.
“You know you could pick up a copy of the New York Post almost every day of the week, and you’d find me there on the cover, and I’ll still take questions from the New York Post because I think that that’s also what it means to be in New York City politics — to engage with New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.
While he remains accessible, Mamdani, who holds near daily press conferences, has also placed some of his own limits on access. Often, events are pooled or open to invited media. Sometimes, Mamdani hosts events for “new media,” including social media influencers and bloggers.
CNN’s Ana Bickford and Claire Calzonetti contributed to this post.