CNN host Abby Phillip made a clarification on air Wednesday after she faced backlash for comments about a recent ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in New York City. Earlier, she took to social media to condemn the attack, but later realized she had inaccurately stated that the bomb thrown by a suspect was aimed at Mayor Zoran Mamdani. “I announced a correction on ‘X’ this morning and I wanted to clear this up on air as well,” Phillip explained. “I take full responsibility for that mistake.”
She acknowledged that everyone makes mistakes but emphasized the importance of admitting and addressing them promptly. During the same Tuesday night show, CNN political commentator Ana Navarro repeated the same incorrect claim, which was corrected by Republican panelist Joe Borelli. “Just to clarify, the attack wasn’t directed at Mayor Mamdani,” Borelli pointed out. “It targeted the protesters who were there against him.”
CNN senior reporter Edward Isaac Dobia also referred to Mamdani as a “target of political violence” on X, but later deleted that post after recognizing the error. He clarified that, although the suspects threw an explosive device during a demonstration near the mayor’s residence, law enforcement had not explicitly indicated that the mayor was the target. “We apologize for the mistake,” Dobia wrote in his correction post.
Interestingly, CNN’s initial coverage of the attack attracted criticism. Their now-deleted post described the teenage suspects’ arrival in New York as part of a normal day, only to later note their arrest for throwing explosives. The network stated that the way they framed the incident did not properly reflect its seriousness.
In the aftermath of the bizarre events surrounding the attack, Emir Barat, 18, and Ibrahim Qayumi, 19, both from Pennsylvania, were charged with supporting a designated terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. They allegedly targeted law enforcement and anti-Muslim demonstrators outside the Gracie residence, where protests against Mamdani were taking place. Both suspects are U.S. citizens, and their backgrounds include parents from Turkey and Afghanistan respectively.
