When Muslim Army doctor Nidal Hasan shot up Fort Hood in 2009, killing 13, Newsweek\u2019s Evan Thomas proclaimed on televised pundit roundtable: “I cringe that he\u2019s a Muslim. I mean, because it inflames all the fears. I think he\u2019s probably just a nut case. But with that label attached to him, it will get the right wing going.” NPR\u2019s Nina Totenberg chimed in: “It really is tragic that he was a Muslim.”<\/p>\n
That reflex certainly applied to the March 7 protests outside Gracie Mansion, where New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> lives. Two Muslim teenagers turned up at an anti-Islam protest with homemade bombs, and the broadcast networks were extremely reluctant to describe them with the “M word.”<\/p>\n On Saturday\u2019s “World News Tonight,” on ABC, anchor Linsey Davis was brief, describing “two people arrested after<\/a> a suspicious device went off during an anti-Muslim protest here in New York. The protests outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor\u2019s residence, prompting counter-protesters to show up as well. Two were arrested for allegedly throwing what is believed to be a smoke bomb. No injuries reported.” Thrown by whom? The anchor didn’t specify. And it certainly didn’t turn out to be a “smoke bomb.” It was a potential mass casualty event.<\/p>\n CNN BOTCHES NEW YORK TERRORIST ATTACK COVERAGE, FORCED TO ISSUE MULTIPLE CORRECTIONS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n CNN host Abby Phillip speaks during her show, “Newsnight” on March 10, 2026. (CNN\/Newsnight)<\/p>\n On Sunday morning, ABC\u2019s “Good Morning America” was even vaguer, with Gio Benitez reporting “the FBI\u2019s joint terrorism task force is now investigating suspicious devices<\/a> thrown during a protest as possible acts of terrorism.” Here again, it’s a maddeningly passive phrasing of “devices thrown.” Thrown by whom?<\/p>\n Later in the show, ABC\u2019s Janai Norman recounted: “Police say two suspicious devices were found. Jars filled with nuts, bolts and screws, and a hobby fuse. They say one protest of about twenty people was organized by far-right, anti-immigrant figure Jake Lang. About 125 people were part of the counter-protest.”<\/p>\n So, one side is “far-right” and “anti-immigrant,” and the other can\u2019t be identified with an ideological or religious affiliation. That report was so vague you might think the Lang group threw the bombs.<\/p>\n SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS ON MAMDANI OVER REPORTS HIS WIFE LIKED PRO-OCTOBER 7TH POSTS: ‘THIS IS WHO THEY ARE’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n NBC “Sunday Today” host Willie Geist at least seemed to get the targeting right: the “incendiary devices” were thrown “towards a small group of anti-Islam protesters led by a right-wing influencer.”<\/p>\n On Sunday night\u2019s “CBS Evening News,” anchor Jericka Duncan again meandered around it: “Tonight, the FBI is investigating two men after an explosive device with bolts and screws was thrown into a crowd. It happened in New York City<\/a> on Saturday during a protest that turned violent outside the mayor\u2019s official residence.” Who turned it violent?<\/p>\n CBS reporter Shanelle Kaul identified Mamdani as a Muslim, but not the assailants. They were just “two men,” she repeated.\u00a0 Viewers could get a clue when the teens were identified as Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, but Kaul blamed the incident on the “anti-Islam demonstration led by Jake Lang \u2026 a pardoned U.S. Capitol insurrectionist who has frequently sought out political confrontations in the months after President Trump gave him clemency.” Lang served four years in prison after wielding a baseball bat on January 6.<\/p>\n SUSPECT IN NYC TERROR PROBE PLANNED ATTACK ‘BIGGER THAN THE BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING,’ PROSECUTORS SAY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n On Monday morning, ABC\u2019s Aaron Katersky again tagged right-wing extremists. The bombs were thrown “during the chaotic, dueling protests that were started by far-right provocateur Jake Lang under the banner, \u2018Stop the Islamic takeover of New York City\u2019 that Mamdani denounced as \u2018rooted in bigotry and racism.\u2019” Katersky then added the bomb plotters “told investigators they had watched ISIS propaganda<\/a> videos and were there to defend Muslims.”<\/p>\n On Monday\u2019s “Today” program on NBC, reporter Sam Brock relayed that “both men allegedly made pro-ISIS statements during their arrest,” but Brock tied the crowds to WABC\u2019s “polarizing talk show host” Sid Rosenberg for calling Mamdani “a jihadist, before later apologizing.” So, it\u2019s not “polarizing” or “bigoted” to favor ISIS and want Jews dead?<\/p>\n So, one side is “far-right” and “anti-immigrant,” and the other can\u2019t be identified with an ideological or religious affiliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It didn\u2019t improve as the story unfolded. CNN had to pull down a ludicrously florid tweet on Monday about the bomb-plotters, that “Two Pennsylvania teenagers<\/a>” could have come to New York “for a normal day enjoying the city\u2019s abnormally warm weather.” This inspired a wave of satires.<\/p>\n On Tuesday night, CNN primetime host Abby Phillip \u2013 followed minutes later by commentator Ana Navarro \u2013 wrongly suggested the target<\/a> of the bombs was Mayor Mamdani. CNN reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere also wrongly tweeted Mamdani was a target. So much for “Facts First” CNN.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n By Wednesday night, Phillip offered a rare on-air<\/a> correction. On Wednesday\u2019s “CBS Evening News,” anchor Tony Dokoupil offered a story on “two heroic New York City Police officers who were just steps away from a smoking improvised bomb on Saturday, an attempted terror attack, according to the FBI.” Jericka Duncan told the story of Aaron Edwards and Luis Navarro jumping into the breach to prevent a deadly bomb explosion.<\/p>\n Ibrahim Kayumi, right, pictured handing an object to Emir Balat, left. Both men were arrested on March 7 after allegedly attempting to bomb a protest in New York City and pledging allegiance to the ISIS terror group. (Justice Department Office of Public Affairs)<\/p>\n Duncan explained “Chief Edwards says the path to this moment started with the 9\/11 attacks.” Edwards said “I saw just police and first responders rushing to save people, and that inspired me to take the test.” But even in this cop-honoring story, the angle of Islamic radicalism just hung in the background. The “M-Word” didn\u2019t emerge.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n These cringing journalists<\/a> have long assumed that Americans (and especially conservatives) aren\u2019t bright enough to think with nuance, that there are many innocent Muslim Americans who have no motivation toward or connection to terrorism. That\u2019s why they have to skip over troubling facts.<\/p>\n![\"Abby](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/abby-phillip-cnn-mamdani.jpg\")
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