Mayor Zohran Mamdani Embarassed and Furious - NYPD Defies Him Over Crazy Order
NYPD Furious At Mamdani After He Calls for Netanyahu Protests
It appears that Zohran Mamdani has yet to fully understand that he’s now the mayor of America’s largest city, and that he’s no longer this bit player activist in the New York Assembly.
And members of the NYPD would love for him to figure that out so their job would be easier.
Mamdani is urging New Yorkers to take to the streets to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to New York City, a move that has drawn criticism from some members of the New York Police Department.
The call for demonstrations comes after a demanding stretch for the NYPD, which recently provided security for several major events, including the FIFA World Cup, Independence Day celebrations, and the America 250 festivities that attracted millions of visitors.
Critics argue that encouraging additional large-scale protests will place even greater demands on law enforcement resources.
“The mayor’s activist posturing puts police officers on the street in a terrible position,” NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said, per the New York Post.
“Protests during the UN General Assembly are nothing new, but when the mayor of the city is actively calling for demonstrations, violent agitators will assume they have permission to cause as much havoc as possible,” he added.
“Those same agitators know that the NYPD’s protest response is already hamstrung by the dangerous lawsuit settlement the city signed over the PBA’s opposition,” said Hendry.
“The mayor’s heated rhetoric could be enough to push demonstrations over the edge into chaos.”
Since before his mayoral campaign, Mamdani has been a vocal critic of Netanyahu, with some critics saying his criticisms of Israel in general smack of anti-Semitism.
During the campaign, he said he would seek to have Netanyahu arrested if he visited New York City, citing the 2024 warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
This week, however, Mamdani acknowledged that he does not have the legal authority to carry out such an arrest.
He instead encouraged New Yorkers to protest Netanyahu’s visit, a move critics say will require additional security and crowd-management efforts from the NYPD, The Post continued.
“This is a city where, if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect,” Mamdani told reporters at City Hall this week.
“That New Yorkers can express themselves, whether they are in support or in opposition, no matter on whatever topic,” he said.
“And I’ve always said that when we respect our Constitution, we also respect our First Amendment,” he claimed.
The NYPD recently managed an exceptionally busy summer that brought an unprecedented influx of visitors to the city.
Officers worked extended 12-hour shifts to provide security for the additional crowds and major public events, successfully carrying out those responsibilities.
Critics now argue that the mayor’s call for large-scale protests will place further demands on an already heavily tasked police force.
“Was he serious?” one incredulous Manhattan cop asked The Post.
“Cops just came off a crazy six weeks between the Knicks and the World Cup working long hours every day, and now he’s going to subject them to unnecessary problems,” the officer added, per The Post.
One Brooklyn offier described Mamdani to The Post “nothing more than a cheap politician looking for cheap headlines” who knew — or should have known — that he “didn’t have the power” to arrest the Israeli prime minister.
Another NYPD vet added, “When will he realize that he is not an activist anymore?”
“He should be governing the city and trying to keep the peace, instead of inciting a riot with his rhetoric,” he said.
“He is basically telling the crazy people to do what they want, and there will be no repercussions. If a cop gets hurt, it will be on him, but that is the least of his worries,” the officer added.
Trump Admin Says It Uncovered $10 Billion Obamacare Fraud Scheme
The Trump administration says it has uncovered what it describes as a massive fraud scheme within the Affordable Care Act.
Members of Trump’s administration allege that roughly $10 billion in taxpayer money was improperly paid out between 2021 and 2024 because of weakened enrollment safeguards under former President Joe Biden.
According to a Department of Health and Human Services report, officials have already removed nearly three million fraudulent or improper Obamacare enrollments and estimate another 2.6 million questionable enrollments remain.
Administration officials say the findings are part of a broader government-wide effort to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse across federal programs.
The report traces the alleged problems to changes made during the Biden administration that expanded enrollment opportunities while relaxing income verification and eligibility checks.
At the start of Biden’s presidency, approximately 10 million people were enrolled through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. By 2024, enrollment had surged to roughly 22 million.
Federal investigators now believe millions of those enrollments were improper, fraudulent, or created without the knowledge of the individuals involved.
“By our estimate, improper, phantom, and fraudulent enrollment peaked at 5.6 million people in 2025,” the report states.
“We estimate 2.6 million improper and phantom enrollments remain, including over 1 million enrollments without a Social Security number.”
According to the report, several different forms of abuse contributed to the alleged fraud.
Officials say some applicants intentionally understated their income to qualify for larger taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Others allegedly received premium assistance despite failing to meet eligibility requirements.
Investigators also identified what they describe as “phantom enrollments,” in which insurance brokers allegedly enrolled people in Obamacare plans without their knowledge to collect federal commissions.
The report argues that reduced verification requirements made those practices significantly easier to carry out.
Since taking office, the Trump administration says it has restored stricter income verification requirements, ended several special enrollment periods, increased screening for duplicate Medicaid enrollment, and launched investigations into brokers suspected of creating phantom policies.
Officials also say they have strengthened oversight of agents participating in the federal marketplace.
As a result of those efforts, nearly three million enrollments have already been removed from the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Even after those removals, approximately 19.2 million people remain enrolled.
The administration says its goal is not to reduce legitimate coverage but to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent only on individuals who actually qualify.
“Preserving the fiscal and programmatic integrity of the ACA Exchanges is key to safeguarding taxpayer-funded resources for those that truly need them,” the report states.
“The federal government paying brokers to enroll individuals without their knowledge is not.”
The report also says the administration will continue pursuing additional enforcement actions against brokers and others accused of exploiting the program.
“The Trump Administration continues to aggressively root out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption by promulgating new regulations to improve program integrity, investigating suspected improper or fraudulent enrollment, and taking action against agents and brokers committing fraud.”
The findings are likely to reignite debate over the Affordable Care Act and how aggressively eligibility rules should be enforced.
Supporters of the administration argue the report demonstrates that stricter oversight is necessary to protect taxpayers and preserve benefits for those legally entitled to receive them.
Critics of previous verification rollbacks have long warned that loosening enrollment safeguards could increase improper payments and fraud, while supporters of the Biden-era policies argued the changes made healthcare more accessible to eligible Americans, Fox News reported exclusively.
The administration says its investigations remain ongoing, with an estimated 2.6 million additional enrollments still under review as officials continue auditing the federal health insurance exchanges.
Trump has been pushing to replace Obamacare for over a decade, and this may give Republicans enough motivation to actually do something.
