NBA champion blasts Mamdani over Netanyahu arrest push: ‘A mayor playing president’



New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has faced intense backlash for his repeated calls to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

And the latest person to jump into the debate was someone the mayor likely never saw coming: Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma.

‘People cosplaying as things they don’t have the authority, the talent, or the track record to actually be.’

In a post on X, the 2020 NBA champion weighed in on an address Mamdani delivered last week in which the mayor reaffirmed his belief that Netanyahu should be arrested for serving as “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”

“I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes,” Mamdani said in the video.

The mayor had previously pledged on the campaign trail — and reiterated in a recent interview with the New York Times — that he would seek to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Netanyahu were to visit New York City, which the prime minister plans to do when the United Nations General Assembly convenes in September.

Mamdani added, however, that the NYPD lacks the legal authority to execute the ICC's warrant.

RELATED: Mamdani boycotts NYC Israel Day Parade despite attending other ethnic celebrations

Responding to the remarks, Kuzma wrote in a Sunday post, “This is 2026. People cosplaying as things they don’t have the authority, the talent, or the track record to actually be. Just for content.”

He continued by calling Mamdani “a mayor playing president.”

“Were [sic] raising a generation that learning the reward isn’t in doing the thing it’s in looking like you did the thing,” Kuzma wrote.

“Don't fall for distractions,” he concluded.

In a follow-up post, Kuzma acknowledged the wave of personal attacks he received for criticizing Mamdani.

“X is for conversation, and in today’s age, you cannot have a conversation without being attacked if people don’t agree with what you are saying,” he said.

“But somehow, I am a Zionist because I’m pointing out things that are happening in front of everyone’s face,” he added.

In contrast, San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama liked the video posted to the mayor’s official Instagram account.

President Donald Trump also chimed in on Truth Social, dismissing Mamdani’s calls, writing, “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States.”

The Netherlands-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, accusing the prime minister of war crimes, including using "starvation as a method of warfare," as well as “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts."

The United States has not ratified the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, and is therefore not obligated to enforce its arrest warrants.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Glenn Beck: How Mamdani is leading Democrats straight off a cliff



While the meteoric rise of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has conservatives around the country concerned, Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck sees a light at the end of the tunnel — as what’s happening now is a repetition of what has happened in the past.

And as Mamdani gets more radical, the end of the road for his movement gets closer.

Mamdani demonstrated this recently when, in direct defiance of the federal government, he called on the Trump administration to rejoin the International Criminal Court to enforce a warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting New York City in the coming months.

“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” Mamdani said. “The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant. And I want to be equally clear. Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.”


“While we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon. And we can examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people,” he added.

“The federal government just this week came out and said, ‘We’re out of the ICC. It is nothing but a sham of a court, and we’re not going to play this game anymore,’” Glenn comments.

“So, he is setting up, see, the big bad bogeyman, orange man bad, is letting this criminal, this war criminal, just walk the streets of New York,” he continues.

“He’s pouring gasoline all over the streets of New York, and he’s flicking matches, and it will catch fire in September. And it will be his fault,” Glenn adds.

Glenn predicts that those who supported Mamdani and helped him get into office “already have had plans to have uprisings in the streets this fall when Benjamin Netanyahu gets there.”

While Glenn is disturbed by Mamdani’s incendiary comments, he does note that this is simply history repeating itself.

“Now, we’ve never seen all of these things at the same time, but it rhymes so closely. We’ve been here before. Let me give you this example. It’s June 1969. It’s the largest radical student organization in American history. It’s about the same size as the DSA is now, and they had their national convention in the Chicago Coliseum. Students for a democratic society had somewhere near 100,000 members and chapters on hundreds of campuses exactly like the DSA,” he explains.

“They had a manifesto. ... It was a document that opened not with rage but with unease. Students raised in modest comfort looking at the world their parents built and finding it hollow. That is exactly the same pattern,” he says.

Like the DSA of today, these students were chanting the names of foreign dictators.

“Within a year, the largest student movement in American history essentially no longer existed. That faction that walked out called themselves the Weathermen, and they announced that they would bring the war home,” he says. “Does that sound familiar?”

“Bring the intifada here,” Glenn mimics. “Same thing.”

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Obscure Belgian Nonprofit That Filed More Than 1,000 ICC Cases Against Israeli Soldiers Has Ties to Hezbollah, Report Alleges

An obscure Belgian nonprofit that has single-handedly filed more than 1,000 complaints against Israeli soldiers at the International Criminal Court (ICC) bills itself as a neutral legal entity crusading against "war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli state." According to a new watchdog report, though, one of its co-founders has openly identified himself as a former Hezbollah terrorist, and the organization itself is entrenched within Hezbollah’s financing network across multiple continents.

The post Obscure Belgian Nonprofit That Filed More Than 1,000 ICC Cases Against Israeli Soldiers Has Ties to Hezbollah, Report Alleges appeared first on .

Rockefeller Brothers Fund Gave Millions to Terror-Tied Extremist Groups in 2025

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) has spent millions of dollars in 2025 supporting an array of anti-Israel groups, several of which have ties to terrorism abroad and extremist activists in the United States, a Washington Free Beacon review of the organization’s grantees shows.

The post Rockefeller Brothers Fund Gave Millions to Terror-Tied Extremist Groups in 2025 appeared first on .

Trump Admin Sanctions Four Top International Criminal Court Members for Targeting US, Israeli Officials

The Trump administration sanctioned four members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday over their efforts to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of either nation,” the State Department confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon.

The post Trump Admin Sanctions Four Top International Criminal Court Members for Targeting US, Israeli Officials appeared first on .

Rubio not taking guff from ICC — hammers foreign judges over targeting of US and Israel



Secretary of State Marco Rubio slapped four judges on the International Criminal Court with sanctions on Thursday over their efforts "to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without consent from the United States or Israel."

The antagonistic efforts on the parts of the judges — Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia — are particularly provocative since the court has no jurisdiction over either country, as neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of the court or party to the Rome Statute, which founded the court in 2002.

"The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies," Rubio said in a statement. "This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel."

The sanctions are in accordance with President Donald Trump's February executive order titled "Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court," in which he indicated the U.S. will "impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC's transgressions."

In the order, Trump noted that the ICC has engaged in "illegitimate and baseless actions" targeting America and Israel; has unlawfully asserted jurisdiction over and launched probes concerning American personnel; and has "abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant."

The ICC issued arrest warrants for the two Israelis in November, accusing them of crimes against humanity and war crimes — including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, and persecution — allegedly committed between Oct. 8, 2023, and May 20, 2024.

RELATED: Liberals freaked out over Vance's Munich speech. Just wait till they read the State Department's Substack.

Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Numerous Western officials said that they would implement the warrants, including then-EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Fontelles, Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.

Trump said that the ICC's endeavor to have officials from non-member nations arrested "set a dangerous precedent," in part by threatening to infringe on the sovereignty of the U.S. and Israel and undermining both nations' national security and foreign policy work.

'The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty.'

The State Department indicated in its announcement of the sanctions against the four ICC judges that the agency does "not take this step lightly" and that it "reflects the seriousness of the threat we face from the ICC's politicization and abuse of power."

The ICC condemned the actions, claiming they constitute "a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe."

"Targeting those working for accountability does nothing to help civilians trapped in conflict. It only emboldens those who believe they can act with impunity," continued the ICC. "These sanctions are not only directed at designated individuals, they also target all those who support the Court, including nationals and corporate entities of States Parties."

Blaze News reached out to the State Department for comment on the ICC's characterization of the sanctions but did not immediately receive a reply.

RELATED: Rubio wages war on foreign free-speech tyrants with visa ban

Photo by JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images

As a result of the Trump administration's sanctions, the judges' property and interests in property in the U.S. or in the control of American persons will be blocked and reported to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Similarly, any entities directly or indirectly owned by the judges will also be blocked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump and Rubio, stating, "You have justly stood up for the right of Israel, the United States, and all democracies to defend themselves against savage terror."

"The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other U.S. ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC," said Rubio. "I call on the countries that still support the ICC, many of whose freedom was purchased at the price of great American sacrifices, to fight this disgraceful attack on our nation and Israel."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

ICC Prosecutor Who Sought To Arrest Netanyahu Takes Leave Amid Sexual Assault Charges

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who sought an arrest warrant against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's war against the terrorist group Hamas, announced Friday that he is temporarily stepping down as the United Nations investigates sexual assault allegations against him.

The post ICC Prosecutor Who Sought To Arrest Netanyahu Takes Leave Amid Sexual Assault Charges appeared first on .

More Countries Will Leave 'Corrupt' ICC, Netanyahu Says After Hungary's Exit

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán announced that his country is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court over its prosecution of Israeli leaders—and more countries will follow, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday.

The post More Countries Will Leave 'Corrupt' ICC, Netanyahu Says After Hungary's Exit appeared first on .

Raphael Warnock Lives Large On His Church's Dime. Plus, NBC Doubles Down on DEI.

The Lord giveth: In 2023, Sen. Raphael Warnock quietly moved into a lavish Atlanta home brimming with luxury accommodations including a 100-bottle wine fridge and a "stunning" European bathroom with a remote-control privacy curtain. The Georgia Democrat sold his previous Atlanta home shortly after he moved in. But he didn't need the proceeds from that sale to cover any costs associated with his new pad because Warnock’s Ebenezer Baptist Church footed the bill.

The post Raphael Warnock Lives Large On His Church's Dime. Plus, NBC Doubles Down on DEI. appeared first on .

GOP Lawmakers Eye Expansion of ICC Sanctions as Court's Top Officials Turn to Europe for Relief

The Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress say they will fully enforce sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and are prepared to expand them in response to recent efforts from top ICC officials to evade the measures.

The post GOP Lawmakers Eye Expansion of ICC Sanctions as Court's Top Officials Turn to Europe for Relief appeared first on .