CNN host Abby Phillip apologized Wednesday morning for inaccurately reporting that the ISIS-inspired fanatics accused of hurling bombs into a New York City crowd were targeting Mayor Zohran Mamdani — in the lefty network’s latest blunder covering the attack.
During Tuesday night’s airing of her show “NewsNight,” Phillip referred to the incident — which saw two self-radicalized Pennsylvania men allegedly hurl homemade bombs that did not detonate into a crowd — as “an attempted terror attack against New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani.”
The host acknowledged the blunder the following day.
“I want to correct something I said last night. The bombs thrown in New York City over the weekend by ISIS inspired attackers was [sic] thrown into a crowd of anti-Muslim protestors and not specifically targeted at Mayor Mamdani,” Phillip wrote on X.
Abby Phillip of CNN at The Argyle on Feb. 28, 2026. Getty Images
“That wording was inaccurate and I didn’t catch it ahead of time. I apologize for the error.”
It’s just the network’s latest gaffe in coverage of the incident. On Tuesday, CNN deleted an outrageous social media post that critics said trivialized the ISIS-inspired attack by calling the suspects two “teenagers” who entered New York City for “what could’ve been a normal day.”
Social media users blasted Phillip for the faulty reporting, urging her to make an on-air correction.
“What you probably should do is say this on air, because a lot of people that watch CNN don’t have X,” one user wrote in a post.
I want to correct something I said last night. The bombs thrown in New York City over the weekend by ISIS inspired attackers was thrown into a crowd of anti-Muslim protestors and not specifically targeted at Mayor Mamdani. That wording was inaccurate and I didn’t catch it ahead…
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) March 11, 2026
Ibraham Kayumi, 19, and Emir Balat, 18, have been accused of throwing homemade devices containing “Mother of Satan” explosives into a crowd near Gracie Mansion during a violent clash between right-wing agitators backing Jake Lang and pro-Muslim counter-protesters on Saturday afternoon.
Phillip was previewing a segment on the attempted attack — which the wannabe terrorists reportedly hoped would be deadlier than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing — when she made the slip.
Emir Balat (left) is handed a device by Ibrahim Kayumi before throwing it near Gracie Mansion. AFP via Getty Images
“Two Republicans say Muslims don’t belong here after an attempted terror attack against New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, says nothing, really, to condemn those comments,” Phillip said on-air.
Conservative Joe Borelli, a former New York representative for Staten Island and guest on “NewsNight,” called out Phillip’s inaccurate comments later during the show.
“To frame it as an anti-Muslim attack would actually completely reverse what happened,” Borelli said.
Kayumi and Balat both self-radicalized in recent years and traveled to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other terror-training hot spots, The Post previously reported.
The pair admitted to cops that they also watched ISIS videos and tossed the bomb at right-wing agitators because they felt their religion was being insulted, according to law enforcement sources.
CNN is already under fire for deleting a social media post and a summary of an article about the attack that critics called tone-deaf.
“Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather,” stated the tweet from the lefty news outlet, according to screenshots.
BREAKING – CNN is now receiving tens of thousands of calls to fire Abby Phillip after she blatantly lied live on air, claiming Zohran Mamdani was the target of the two Muslim bombers in NYC, coming just a day after the network was forced to retract a sympathetic story about them. pic.twitter.com/nubdxO8NjO
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) March 11, 2026
“But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs.”
By Tuesday morning, a link to the social media post produced an error message and the news outlet released a statement acknowledging it was deleted.
The suspect is seen throwing a device near Gracie Mansion. REUTERS
“A post regarding the two individuals arrested for throwing homemade bombs outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting. It has therefore been deleted,” CNN said in a statement.
The full article remained available on CNN’s site, notably referring to Kayumi and Balat as “two Pennsylvania men,” not “teenagers,” and omitting the flowery language on the weather and “what could’ve been a normal day.”