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Politics

/ February 5, 2026

Zohran Mamdani: Why I’m Endorsing Kathy Hochul

Exclusive: New York City’s mayor explains why he’s backing New York’s governor in the 2026 election.

Zohran Mamdani

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Zohran Mamdani and Kathy Hochul at a rally in Queens on October 26, 2025.
(Anthony Behar / Sipa via AP)

“The era of empty promises ends.”

That’s the vision that drove our mayoral campaign. It’s the foundation of my administration. It’s also what Governor Kathy Hochul said as we celebrated an agreement to deliver universal childcare—one of the largest expansions of the social safety net in our city’s history. 

It is as consequential a policy victory as our movement has seen in quite some time. A burden of more than $22,500 lifted, the difference between whether or not a family can stay in the city they love with the children they want to raise. It was made possible by the nearly 100,000 volunteers who talked to millions of New Yorkers at their doors. But it would not have happened, just eight days into our administration, without Governor Hochul moving to provide more than $1 billion in state funding.

We delivered this historic win together. Together, we have fought to protect New Yorkers from ICE. Together, we have defended our party, our democracy, and the ability of working New Yorkers to raise a family in the city they love. And together, we have forged a new era in the relationship between Albany and City Hall after too many years defined by pettiness instead of productivity. At a moment of crisis, we chose a different path. We respected one another’s perspectives and committed to the idea that government should, and must, work — even when it’s hard.

The Governor and I do not agree on everything. We have real differences, particularly when it comes to taxation of the wealthiest, at a moment defined by profound income inequality. I continue to believe that the wealthiest among us can afford to pay just a little bit more.

But for too long, our politics has been defined by a familiar cycle: big promises, bitter fights, and little tangible progress. This stagnation has taken a toll. People are struggling to afford childcare, housing, and public transit. They are tired of being told to wait while they are crushed by an affordability crisis that drives out the very people who built this city. And they are rightfully demanding change. 

Current Issue

February 2026 Issue

Those of us entrusted with the sacred oath of service must heed that call and work together to honor it. That requires not the absence of disagreement, but the presence of trust. We must be able to disagree honestly while still delivering …

Trump jokes about needing help from God during National Prayer Breakfast
Trust is earned, not demanded.

President Donald Trump jokingly said he would continue to attend the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington because he needed divine assistance as the leader of the free world.

“It’s a true honor to be back with so many incredible leaders and people of faith at the National Prayer Breakfast. I think I’ve been here just about every time. It’s hard to turn it down, and I don’t have the courage to turn it down. Sometimes I want to,” Trump said to laughter at the Thursday morning event.

Trump recounted an anecdote about aides previously preparing him for his speech to the National Prayer Breakfast after he returned from a trip at 4 a.m. “I said, ‘I’ll be there. I’m afraid not to be, I need all the help I can get,'” he added, drawing more laughter and applause.

Trump’s comments follow his remarks to Fox News in October 2025 that he was unsure he would make it into heaven but was hoping that ending the war between Russia and Ukraine would help his case with God.

“You know, I’m being a little cute — I don’t there’s anything going to get me in heaven,” he told Peter Doocy on Air Force One. “I think I’m not maybe heaven-bound.”

Trump lightly ribbed the New York Times for covering his past remarks about getting into heaven.

“The New York Times did a front-page story that Donald Trump is questioning his life and the meaning of his life,” Trump said. “I was just having fun. I really think I probably should make it. I mean, I’m not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people. That’s for sure.”

Trump’s contemplation of where he will go in the afterlife stands in contrast to his worldly focus on his 2020 election loss and 2024 victory over Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

“They rigged the second election,” Trump said at the National Prayer Breakfast, referring to the official results of the 2020 race. “I had to win it. I had to win it. I needed it for my own ego. I would’ve had a bad ego for the rest of my life. Now I really have a big ego.”

Despite his misgivings about his own soul, Trump was unequivocal to the crowd of religious supporters: “Religion’s back now, hotter than ever before.”

The president also attacked politicians who eschew religion, claiming that “some major politicians refuse to say the word ‘God.’ They don’t want to say it. I say it.”

“You have to have religion,” Trump added. “You have to have it. You have to have faith. You have to have God. And thankfully, as we gather today, there are …

Trump defends Noem at National Prayer Breakfast, rejects calls to fire DHS secretary: 'Why would I do that?'
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

President Donald Trump completely rejected the idea of firing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem despite mounting criticism over the administration's immigration enforcement tactics.
While addressing the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Trump said that he had been asked about firing Noem during his interview with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Llamas. The president dismissed the notion entirely.
"Why would I do that?" Trump said. "We have the strongest border in the history of our country. We have the best crime numbers we've ever had going back to the year 1900."
NBC released a transcript of the interview ahead of time, giving a look at the moment Trump was asked whether he still believes in Noem.
GRAHAM PUSHES BACK ON TILLIS' CRITICISM OF NOEM, MILLER FOR LABELING MAN KILLED BY BORDER PATROL A 'TERRORIST'
"Look, look, she was in charge of the border. The border’s closed. I mean, everybody gives me A+ on the border. The border was a disaster. People were pouring into our country," Trump said, according to the NBC transcript.
When Llamas pressed the president on the issue of enforcement, Trump doubled down on his confidence in his administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.
"They don’t even try and come up now. . . We have very good — you just — you just asked me a — Kristi. We have the best crime numbers that we’ve had in 125 years. I think she’s doing a very good job. Again, public relations. She’s not getting credit for the job that she does," Trump is quoted as saying in the transcript.
REP JEFFRIES ESCALATES RHETORIC AGAINST NOEM, SAYS DHS LEADER SHOULD BE ‘PUT ON ICE PERMANENTLY’
During his speech on Thursday, Trump defended several members of his administration, while taking swipes at former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama. He called Biden the "world's worst president" and said Obama was "a terrible divider of our country."
The president joked that his most recent predecessor, Biden, would not take it personally that he called him the "world's worst president" because "he had no idea he was president."
"He had no idea he was president, so he doesn't take it personally. I don't want him to take it personally. Fortunately, he has no idea what the hell I'm saying," Trump said.
Turning his criticisms to Obama, he said that the 44th president was "very bad."
"He was a divider, and — believe it or not — we're bringing the country together," Trump told the crowd, adding that the "tremendous success" of his administration was uniting Americans.
Trump, who has not shied away from insulting his opponents, has …

El Salvador’s Bukele says violent gang bangers are literal Satan worshippers in sharp immigration warning
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele joined the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, warning attendees that violent gang members in his country have a documented history of worshiping Satan — and that some of those gang members have crossed into the U.S.
"Many people don't know that our enemy was not just the flesh and blood, but spiritual as well. The gangs didn't just murder, rape, extort. They also worship Satan," Bukele said on Thursday morning from the U.S. Capitol. "It's straight up. Literally. When we went to their homes to arrest them, we discovered altars that were used for satanic rituals."
"This is well documented. We put up the pictures, the videos right away. But for some reason, the global mainstream media didn't think it was worth it to cover it. But we know gangs in El Salvador were satanic and they worshiped Satan," he continued. 
TRUMP SAYS CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS ‘MAKE HELLS ANGELS LOOK LIKE THE SWEETEST PEOPLE ON EARTH’
He warned the body of bipartisan lawmakers and business leaders: "Some of those gangs are here in the United States."
Bukele has previously warned that El Salvador’s security forces found alleged MS-13-linked "satanic" altars and ritual materials during raids. 
Bukele is a Trump ally who struck a deal with the U.S. government in 2025 to accept hundreds of Venezuelan gang members, who were illegally living in the United States, into El Salvador's notoriously no-nonsense, high-security prison. 
TRUMP DISCUSSES EXPANSION OF DRUG CARTEL CRACKDOWN, ISSUES GRIM WARNING TO IRAN
Bukele said crime has cratered in his country after snuffing out violent gang syndicates with prison time and law-and-order policies.
"El Salvador was the murder capital of the world. That was our nickname, murder capital of the world. The most dangerous place in the whole wide world. And now it's the safest country in the whole continent," he said Thursday.
BUKELE CHALLENGES HILLARY CLINTON TO TAKE EL SALVADOR'S ENTIRE PRISON POPULATION AFTER CRITICISM
President Donald Trump also addressed the prayer breakfast, reflecting on the administration's mission to protect religious liberty.
"They declared that all of us are made free and equal by the hand of our creator," Trump said of the Founding Fathers. "A lot of presidents refuse to say that.… Some major politicians refuse to say the word God. They don't want to say it. I say it, that we are endowed with our sacred rights to life, liberty, and not by government, but by God Almighty himself." 

Gabbard seizes voting machines from Puerto Rico as part of 2020 investigation
Ask who never gets charged.

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard seized voting machines from Puerto Rico as part of an investigation into the 2020 election.

Gabbard’s team investigated Puerto Rico’s voting machines last spring, a development revealed in a Reuters report on Wednesday. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence told CNN in a statement on Wednesday that it seized voting machines from the island to investigate them for insecurities.

The office said the seizure came as a result of “extremely concerning” cybersecurity and operational deployment practices with Puerto Rican voting machines. The operation appeared smoother than the FBI raid of Fulton County, with the ODNI statement saying the federal government’s team “facilitated the voluntary turnover of electronic voting hardware and software to ODNI for analysis.”

The U.S. attorney in Puerto Rico, Homeland Security Investigations agents, and an FBI supervisory special agent took part in the operation.

The investigation was based on “publicly reported claims relating to elections in Puerto Rico alleging discrepancies and systemic anomalies in their electronic voting systems,” the statement added.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the ODNI for comment.

The seizure of the machines quickly drew protests from Democrats, who argued that election matters were out of Gabbard’s jurisdiction.

“Director Gabbard’s own team acknowledges there was no evidence of foreign interference, yet they seized voting machines and election data anyway. Absent a foreign nexus, intelligence agencies have absolutely no lawful role in domestic election administration. Are our intelligence tools being abused to pursue this farce?” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said in a post on X.

FULTON COUNTY SUES FOR FILES TAKEN BY FBI RAID

Gabbard has found herself at the center of concerns around election integrity after she showed up at an FBI raid of an election center in Fulton County last week. She later brokered a call between President Donald Trump and the FBI agents involved. Trump praised her role the day after the raid, saying she was working to keep elections secure.

“She’s working very hard on trying to keep the election safe, and she’s done a very good job,” he said of Gabbard. “They got into the votes with a signed judge’s order in Georgia, and you’re going to see some interesting things happening. They’ve been trying to get there for a long time.”

House GOP rips 'insane' Democrat demand to 'unmask' ICE agents as DHS shutdown looms
What's the endgame here?

House Republicans are unsure if Democrats are negotiating in good faith on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with the chances of a partial shutdown growing larger by the day.
Congress has until the end of Feb. 13 to produce a bipartisan plan funding DHS for the remainder of the fiscal year.
A DHS funding bill will need at least some Democratic support in the Senate, where bipartisan cooperation is critical to the 60-vote threshold to advance most legislation.
But in the House, which governs by a simple majority, Republicans are balking at some of the key demands made by Democratic leaders in exchange for their support.
SCHUMER, JEFFRIES MEND RIFT, PRESENT UNITED FRONT ON DHS REFORMS AS DEADLINE NEARS
"I'm surprised that they didn't just say the quiet part out loud, that they want to abolish [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] altogether, which is what some of the members are actually saying," Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. "So I think those demands are ridiculous."
He and other conservatives have also said they do not believe Democrats are negotiating for a legitimate compromise — a lack of trust that puts any potential deal on shaky ground with only nine days until a possible DHS shutdown.
"We had four years of anything but good faith, and they really put our country into a really bad situation," Pfluger said.
DEMS' DHS SHUTDOWN THREAT WOULD HIT FEMA, TSA WHILE IMMIGRATION FUNDING REMAINS INTACT
Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said he had similar concerns about trust when engaging with Democrats on the topic.
And Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said, "I think it's kind of hard to negotiate with legislative terrorists."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., rolled out a list of four key asks for the White House during a press conference on Wednesday — a ban on ICE agents wearing masks, mandatory body cameras for federal officers, requiring judicial warrants for arrests, and a ban on deporting and detaining U.S. citizens.
SHUTDOWN AVERTED FOR NOW, BUT SENATE WARNS DHS FIGHT COULD TRIGGER ANOTHER IN DAYS
While there is considerable bipartisan agreement on body-worn cameras, demands like forcing ICE agents to remove masks and getting judicial warrants have been largely criticized by Republicans.
"The ban on masks is insane. No, that's a non-starter. This idea of this ban on deporting U.S. citizens thing, is a ruse. They're trying to get us to admit this is happening in some type of systematic manner …

House Republicans sound alarm over CCP-linked fake research threatening US taxpayer-funded science
We're watching the same failure loop.

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are sounding the alarm over what they say is a growing threat from China-linked "paper mills" that may be injecting fake scientific research into U.S. government-funded programs, potentially compromising taxpayer-funded science and American scientific leadership.
In oversight letters sent this week and obtained by Fox News Digital, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas,  and subcommittee chair Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., are demanding answers from federal agencies about what safeguards they have in place to prevent falsified or plagiarized studies tied to CCP-backed publishing operations from influencing federal grants and research.
The letters warn that fraudulent academic papers, produced by so-called paper mills that manufacture or sell research for profit, are increasingly appearing in U.S. journals and may already be shaping federally funded science, despite originating from operations linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"These operations are becoming major sources of falsified and plagiarized research," the committee wrote, cautioning that U.S. research grants could be awarded to individuals who rely on compromised studies or collaborate with CCP-affiliated funding sources, undermining the integrity of taxpayer-funded programs.
CHINESE SCHOLARS CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS INTO US UNDER RESEARCH COVER
In the letters, the committee asks the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide information on how agencies vet published studies used in funding decisions, whether they screen for ties to foreign adversaries or paper-mill activity, and what steps are taken when fraudulent research is identified. 
The committee also requests briefings on how agencies plan to strengthen oversight and protect taxpayer-funded science from compromised or manipulated findings.
Fox News Digital has asked the five agencies to provide a response.
CHINESE NATIONALS ARRESTED AT TOP SCHOOL SHOWS HOW CCP VIEWS US UNIVERSITIES AS 'WEAK LINK,' EXPERTS WARN
The committee pointed to a 2006 Alzheimer’s disease study, which helped popularize the so-called "amyloid hypothesis," and was later revealed to have relied on fabricated data — yet the findings were used for years to justify research priorities and funding decisions at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
According to the committee, NIH continued to fund research based on the faulty hypothesis for roughly 16 …

Democrats Need to Get Serious About Stopping Trump From Rigging the Midterms
Trust is earned, not demanded.

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Democrats Need to Get Serious About Stopping Trump From Rigging the Midterms

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/ February 5, 2026

Democrats Need to Get Serious About Stopping Trump From Rigging the Midterms

Here’s one idea for a coordinated response to Trump’s coordinated attacks.

Elie Mystal

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A voter receives a ballot.
(Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Voting rights and pro-democracy advocates are in a precarious position. If they speak loudly and frankly about Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s plans to suppress, manipulate, or outright “steal” the upcoming midterm election, they risk depressing the very people who must be counted on to show up and vote. They risk making people feel like their votes will not matter because “the fix is already in.” They get called a “doomer” by Pollyanna Democrats on social media, and “hysterical” by Republicans. And since the single best solution to the threat of voter suppression is overwhelming turnout, depression and doom, even in the name of truth, ends up helping Trump’s forces.

But: to ignore the threat posed by Trump, to pretend like everything is going to be okay, to assume that upstanding members of the courts will rise to prevent the theft of the election is to stick your head in the sand. Trump and the Republicans have no intention of letting the upcoming midterms (in which Republicans are predicted to lose control of the House) proceed fairly. They’re attacking the election through legislative, law-enforcement, and political means.

The most obvious threat is the legislation Republicans keep introducing. Republicans in the House have already passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act). The bill radically reshapes the voter registration process by essentially repealing the Motor Voter Act. Instead of allowing people to register with a driver’s license, the SAVE Act requires them to show additional identification, like a passport or a birth certificate, in order to register. The Economic Times estimates that at least 21 million eligible voters may not be able to provide this extra information. The people most likely to struggle with the new requirements are the usual suspects—people of color, young people, and poor people—but there’s an additional group that could easily be prevented from voting should this bill become a law: married women who have changed their name. Those women likely do not have a birth certificate with their new marital name, and if they also don’t have an updated passport with their married name, they could be denied their right to vote.

And that’s not all the SAVE Act does. The act requires regular “purges” of voting rolls, so people …

Kid Rock called out for lyrics about ‘underage’ girls ahead of TPUSA show
This isn't complicated—it's willpower.

Kid Rock has come under fire for lyrics from his 2001 song that resurfaced on the internet ahead of his headline performance at Turning Point USA‘s “All-American Halftime Show.”

His song “Cool, Daddy Cool” with rapper Joe Calleja, or Joe C., includes lyrics in which Kid Rock sang, “I like ’em underage,” referring to women.

“Young ladies, young ladies, I like ’em underage, see. Some say that’s statutory,” Kid Rock sings in the song.

“But I say it’s mandatory,” Joe C. sings in response.

Kid Rock, born Robert James Ritchie in 1971, would have been 30 years old when the song was released.

The Michigan-born country-rock artist is a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump and is headlining TPUSA’s alternative Super Bowl halftime show that will run counter to the official show headlined by Bad Bunny, a prominent critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

As Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny takes the Super Bowl Halftime stage on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, TPUSA’s alternative to his show will be streamed on stations such as The National News Desk and Real America’s Voice.

TPUSA announced its counterprogram in October, tapping Kid Rock as the headliner on Monday. Country singers Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett will also be performing.

Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, upped his anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement rhetoric ahead of the Super Bowl during the Grammy Awards on Sunday. He echoed celebrity calls for “ICE out” as he accepted his Best Música Urbana Album award.

“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say, ICE out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans,” Bad Bunny said.

When TPUSA announced the “All-American Halftime Show,” conservative activist Riley Gaines bashed Bad Bunny’s call for Americans to practice their Spanish ahead of his performance.

STARMER APOLOGIZES TO EPSTEIN VICTIMS FOR APPOINTING MANDELSON AS AMBASSADOR

“Bad Bunny told Americans they had 4 months to learn Spanish if we wanted to understand the Super Bowl halftime show. No thanks. We’ll just have our own. Enjoy your low-rated halftime show,” Gaines wrote.

TPUSA did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment on Kid Rock’s lyrics.

Targeted for their faith overseas, persecuted Christians get a White House welcome under Trump
Is this competence or optics?

FIRST ON FOX: The White House is welcoming a cohort of persecuted Christians from around the globe on Thursday following President Donald Trump's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, Fox News Digital learned. 
The White House Faith Office, led by senior adviser Pastor Paula White-Cain and faith director Jenny Korn, will welcome at least six Christians who have been persecuted in their home countries, such as China, Nigeria and Cuba, Fox News Digital learned. 
The White House meeting comes as Trump addressed the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning, which draws hundreds of lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle, business leaders and foreign dignitaries each February to discuss faith and pray for the nation’s future.
Trump said from the dais that "no administration in modern history has done more to confront the plight of persecuted Christians around the world than we have."
TRUMP RETURNS TO NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST AS FAITH TAKES CENTER STAGE IN SECOND TERM
"It's a mission. It's actually a mission. On Christmas Day and in close coordination with the government of Nigeria – we worked with them, but they got to get tougher — I ordered powerful airstrikes to decimate the ISIS terrorists who have been slaughtering Christians in that country by the thousands. It's not even believable. We hit them so hard," Trump said. 
Among the persecuted Christians attending the White House meeting are: Rev. Gideon Para-Mallam of Nigeria; Grace Drexel, who faced persecution in China; Pastor Andrew Brunson, who faced persecution in Turkey; Mariam Ibraheem, who faced persecution in Sudan; Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso of Cuba; and Y Phic "Jack" Hdok of Vietnam.
Para-Mallam, a Nigerian pastor who founded the Gideon & Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, has worked with survivors of attacks on Christians in the nation and leads advocacy and humanitarian relief efforts in some of Nigeria’s hardest-hit communities. 
The U.S. launched airstrikes in northwest Nigeria on Christmas night targeting ISIS militants Trump accused of killing Christians, which Para-Mallam said led to "one of the most peaceful Christmas seasons for Nigerian Christians in recent history."
AFTER TRUMP STRIKES ISLAMIST TERRORISTS, US GENERAL TRAVELS TO NIGERIA WITH MILITANTS 'ON THE RUN'
The group also includes Pastor Andrew Brunson, the American pastor who spent more than two decades ministering in Turkey before his 2016 arrest on what supporters said were false accusations. His high-profile case ended with his release in 2018 after Trump pushed for it.
Grace Drexel is the daughter of …