New York Times executive editor praises Mamdani college application report amid liberal outrage
The Times irked supporters of the socialist New York City mayoral candidate last week by reporting that he checked off that he was both "Asian" and "Black or African American" on his 2009 college application to Columbia University. Mamdani, who is of Indian descent and was born in Uganda, confirmed he was "trying to capture the fullness" of his background because "most college applications don't have a box for Indian-Ugandans."
Liberal readers blasted the Times for going out of its way to make Mamdani's college application a story and for relying on a source only identified by an anonymous social media username, whom the Times described as "an academic who opposes affirmative action."
Backlash was so intense that Patrick Healy, the paper's assistant managing editor for Standards and Trust, issued a lengthy statement on the Fourth of July, justifying the news value of the report.
Kahn, who was promoted from managing editor to the top job in 2022, praised the report during a Monday daily news meeting, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley examined the backlash to the Times report.
"The New York Times experienced an uprising in its ranks and among its readers. The paper was denounced by its own staff and liberal pundits called for the entire editorial staff to be canned. Why? Because The New York Times actually reported news that was deemed harmful to the Democrats, specifically Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani," Turley wrote.
"For liberals, it was an utter nightmare. For a party still defined by identity politics, Mamdani's false claim over his race left many uncertain about how to react," Turley added. "The left has always maintained a high degree of tolerance for false claims by its own leaders, from Sen. Elizabeth Warren claiming to be a Native American to Sen. Richard Blumenthal claiming to have served in the Vietnam War."
Among the outspoken critics of the report was ex-MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, who believes the Gray Lady is "campaigning against Mamdani."
"Utter failure," Olbermann wrote. "Then again, if you don't realize NYT is perceived as actively campaigning against Mamdani, you're all lost anyway."
Times columnist Lydia Polgreen sympathized with Mamdani, writing on X, "I can see why a political young man like Zohran might fill out his college application the way he did. Because if you are like me, you struggle to be known in this country. Our visual sorting is so simplistic and quite brutal."
Mamdani has said he identifies as "an American who was born in Africa," and stated that checking multiple boxes was an effort to reflect his "complex background," not to gain an advantage in the competitive admissions process.
He was ultimately not accepted to Columbia even though his father was a professor at the elite school.
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New York Post
24 minutes ago
- New York Post
College group Zohran Mamdani co-founded welcomed radical speaker who blamed US for 9/11 attacks: 'Made its bed'
Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani co-founded a college club that invited a radical speaker who called Israel a bigger terror threat than Hamas – and boasted he was greatly influenced by a Palestinian leader nicknamed the 'godfather of Middle-eastern terrorism.' The professor, As'ad AbuKhalil, also later claimed that the US brought the Sept. 11 attack on itself and accused the government of inflicting 'many 9/11s' on the world. In November 2013, Students for Justice in Palestine at Bowdoin College — which Mamdani helped launch — welcomed the controversial Lebanese-American academic to campus. Advertisement 7 Mamdani co-founded a college club that invited a radical speaker who called Israel a bigger terror threat than Hamas. Paul Martinka for NY Post AbuKhalil was invited to speak to SJP about 'trends in the Middle East in the age of uprising' while Mamdani was still a student. Years after the invite, he hadn't tampered down his inflammatory rhetoric. Advertisement 'We have to remember that the US basically was hit on 9/11 by forces that were reactionary and fanatic and were raised and armed and sponsored by America and its allies in the Middle East,' Abukhalil said in 2021. 'People forget that 9/11 is a repercussion of the Cold War when the US made its bed and clearly with the religious fanatics of the Muslim world,' he also said. 'This is a time where socialists around the world in Chile, in the Arab world and everywhere were under attack by the US. Reactionary forces in support.' 7 AbuKhalil was invited to speak to SJP about 'trends in the Middle East in the age of uprising' while Mamdani was still a student. GiraZapatistaBE/X While AbuKhalil stressed it's 'heart-wrenching remembering all these people who came from 80 nationalities, the ones who died on 9/11 here in the United States,' he also argued, 'but there were many earlier 9/11s that the US inflicted on people around the world.' Advertisement The questionable invite was one of several inflammatory actions the students group has taken in the past decade after Mamdani helped launch the small liberal arts school's branch of the activist organization. The democratic socialist who won big in the crowded Democratic primary for Big Apple mayor, has faced a wave of criticism for his association with leaders accused of antisemitism and past comments. 7 New York's Zohran Mamdani holds rally with union leaders inside HTC (Hotel & Gaming Trades Council) midtown HQ at 707 8th Avenue (between 44th and 45th streets) in midtown Manhattan. Paul Martinka for NY Post AbuKhalil's most eyebrow-raising 9/11 comments came after he was invited to Bowdoin but he made several shocking statements leading up to the event. Advertisement In 2006, AbuKhalil claimed Israel committed more destructive terrorism than Hamas and slammed Americans for not acknowledging that. 'And if Hamas has practiced versions of indiscriminate and aimless violence—which I personally reject on principle–, it should be pointed out that Israeli terrorism—in scale and in magnitude–by far exceeds that of Hamas, but nobody has noticed here in the US. Fatah is facing a dilemma, and it does not know how to respond,' he wrote in a blog post. 7 AbuKhalil's most eyebrow-raising 9/11 comments came after he was invited to Bowdoin. Bowdoin SJP/X AbuKhalil said he was 'honored to have known' George Habash, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which has been designated a terror organization by the US since 1997. 'He was a great Palestinian leader,' said AbuKhalil in 2012 to an audience in Edinburgh that was pointed out by Canary Mission. AbuKhalil also commended Habash as a figure who had 'tremendous influence' on the academic. 'Of course if you look at newspapers he would be seen as terrorist,' he said. A Time magazine story in 2008 about his death assailed Habash as 'the godfather of Middle East terrorism.' Advertisement 'The PFLP was founded in 1967 by a group of radical socialists led by George Habash and became infamous in the 1970s for airplane hijackings,' according to the Anti-Defamation League. 7 AbuKhalil said he was 'honored to have known' George Habash, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. An email seeking comment from AbuKhalil, who teaches at California State University Stanislaus, was not immediately returned. Longshot mayoral candidate Jim Walden slammed Mamdani for his past ties to the student. Advertisement 'Mamdani needs to come clean with voters on his support for Islamic radicals and terrorists while at Bowdoin,' said Walden, an attorney. Mamdani's campaign did not immediately reply to a request for comment. It's unclear if Mamdani was involved in getting AbuKhalil to campus or if he attended the talk. 7 It's unclear if Mamdani was involved in getting AbuKhalil to campus or if he attended the talk. asadabukhalil/X While Mamdani graduated from Bowdoin in spring 2014, the SJP chapter has had other instances in which it was a hotbed for radical activism. Advertisement SJP occupied a first floor of a campus building earlier this year tied to protesting the school's investment practices and President Trump hinting at taking control of war-torn Gaza, according to the Bowdoin Orient. 'As Israeli aggression obliterates Palestinian homes and guns down children in Jenin, as unspeakable suffering continues in Gaza, and as America descends further into fascism, we ask – what type of institution does Bowdoin want to be?' the group argued in a press release. 'One that cowers to authoritarianism, that chooses cowardice in the face of injustice? The choice is Bowdoin's.' 7 New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attends a press conference with union leaders and supporters in New York City, July 2, 2025. REUTERS Advertisement Scrutiny into Mamdani's background has only intensified since he easily coasted to victory in the Democratic Party primary last month, clobbering former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a slew of other candidates in the ranked-choice vote. In resurfaced tweets Mamdani appeared to defend al Qaeda fiend Anwar al-Awalaki, who was later killed in a drone strike approved by then-President Barack Obama. It was also revealed last week that Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, claimed he was 'African American' along with 'Asian' in a college application to Columbia University that was ultimately rejected. The far-left darling still needs to get past the general election in which he'll face GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa as well as Mayor Eric Adams, Cuomo and Walden each of whom are appearing on minor ballot lines. 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New York Post
24 minutes ago
- New York Post
Biden's handlers scrambled to change his personal number after journalist reached him on his cell, new book claims
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Fox News
33 minutes ago
- Fox News
Adams rebukes Mamdani for 'romanticizing' socialism in NYC mayoral campaign
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