Mamdani rebukes Trump's anti-immigrant agenda in address for America's 250th birthday

From behind George Washington’s desk inside New York City Hall, Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked the nation’s 250th anniversary with an address that sought to redefine “American exceptionalism” against a tide of anti-immigrant and anti-democratic forces under President Donald Trump and his allies. The mayor, surrounded by a group of recently naturalized American citizens holding American flags, did not explicitly name the president in his remarks, but his 14-minute address amounted to a rebuke of the administration’s anti-immigration agenda and the “forces of division” that undermine the nation’s founding principles. “For generation after generation, we have been told that when the world has sent its people to our shores, it has not sent its best,” he said in his remarks. “We are told that America is exceptional because we are richer, stronger, more powerful than everyone else. The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because here nothing is fixed into place.” Watch more on Independent TV: https://tinyurl.com/yc7ukx9n The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking newsbrand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. Subscribe: https://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-Independent Find us on social: TikTok /   / independent   Instagram /   / the.independent   X (Twitter) /   / independent   Facebook /   / theindependentonline   Download the iOS & Android app: https://tinyurl.com/2s3ts5dh Sign up to our newsletters: https://tinyurl.com/2bmw565x Help to support truly independent journalism. Every dollar you contribute will directly fund additional special reports and investigations from a free-thinking, award-winning newsroom you can trust: https://www.independent.co.uk/donations