Bannon Slams Mamdani Minutes After Trump Praises Him

Steve Bannon labeled New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani a "Ugandan Marxist, jihadist" on Monday's War Room, minutes after his own broadcast carried President Donald Trump telling the mayor he has "great potential" and could be "a great mayor."

Real America's Voice, the network carrying Bannon's show, served as the White House pool camera for Trump's New York trip after CNN and other outlets were barred, so War Room aired the Gracie Mansion press conference live and Bannon reacted within minutes of it ending on the same broadcast.

"Note to self. No more Ugandan Marxist, jihadist, as mayor of New York. President said he's gonna be a great mayor," Bannon said as the press conference ended, before turning to guest Jack Posobiec, a Real America's Voice host and author, for his reaction.

What Trump Said at Gracie Mansion

A reporter at the press conference told Trump and Mamdani that "this is the first time that a sitting president has visited Gracie Mansion in decades." The two men discussed the proposed Sunnyside Yards development in Queens, which Mamdani said would mean "12,000 homes, 30,000 jobs, the prospect of an entire new neighborhood." Fortune reported the mayor's office estimates the project would require more than $21 billion in federal grants, and that Trump made no funding commitment.

Asked why he now hopes Mamdani succeeds after months of criticism, Trump said: "No, I certainly hope he will be a great mayor... I want him to be a great mayor. And he certainly got potential, got great potential." Earlier in the event he told the mayor he had seen "some great ones and some not so great ones, so hopefully you're gonna be a great one."

Mamdani said, "I have said time and again that I will work with anyone... whoever has the power and the will to lift that weight off New Yorkers' backs." Asked about Trump's praise, he said only, "I'll leave it to New Yorkers on your first question to make their judgments."

The cordial tone at Monday's event followed months of public criticism from Trump toward Mamdani, whose citizenship and political record have also drawn scrutiny from congressional Republicans.

Bannon and Posobiec's Attack on Mamdani

The harshest language came from Posobiec, not Bannon. "Okay, the guy's not an American. He's not an American," Posobiec said, adding that "Mamdani is someone who's, he's fresh off the boat. He's barely even a citizen."

Posobiec also acknowledged the president's position: "Look, Steve, the president of the United States has his prerogative... I'll tell you right now. There's no great one coming out of Zohran Mamdani."

Near the end of the segment Bannon asked, "But the reality is Mamdani is a Marxist-Jihadist, is he not, sir?" Posobiec agreed, describing the mayor's politics as "the Red-Green Alliance on steroids." He also recalled a previous Oval Office meeting in which he said he confronted Mamdani, asking why "you wanna tax the white neighborhoods more," and said the mayor disputed the remark while Posobiec maintained "your campaign put it out." PolitiKool could not independently verify Posobiec's characterization of the campaign document or Mamdani's response.

What the Public Record Shows on Mamdani's Citizenship

Mamdani's biography is well documented and does not match the "fresh off the boat" description. He was born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1991, moved to New York City at age 7, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018, according to PolitiFact and The Associated Press, a citizen of eight years and a New Yorker for roughly 27, elected to the state Assembly in 2020 and sworn in as the city's 112th mayor on January 1.

Republican Representatives Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Randy Fine of Florida asked the Justice Department last year to investigate Mamdani's naturalization. PolitiFact reported that immigration experts saw no evidence he was ineligible. "I've seen no credible proof he was ineligible when he took the oath..." immigration lawyer Jeremy McKinney told PolitiFact. NBC News reported that Trump had claimed without evidence Mamdani was an illegal immigrant.

The Press Ban and Trump's Standing

A reporter at Gracie Mansion asked Trump whether he was barring outlets such as CNN and MS Now "to distract from the Iran war and high gas prices." Trump denied it, saying, "I won the election in a landslide. I've done great things," and that "if they're fake news, I really think I have an obligation not to allow them into another very special house." Mamdani said he told the president "that we're gonna have all of the members of the press here on the lawn."

Trump's public standing is weaker than his landslide framing suggests. PolitiKool's polling average puts his approval at 38.8 percent and disapproval at 58.2 percent as of Tuesday, a net rating of minus 19.4.

What Happens Next

Mamdani and Trump agreed to open a new channel between City Hall's housing team and the White House on Sunnyside Yards, though no federal money was pledged. Trump addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday and hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit on Thursday. Bannon said War Room would "bug you and track you down tomorrow morning" with Posobiec still in New York.