Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, said on Monday that he was withdrawing from a town hall on WABC that had been planned for this week, in protest of the decision by the station’s parent company to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show.
The suspension came last week following criticism from the head of the Federal Communications Commission after Mr. Kimmel, a late-night comedian, spoke about the killing of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and ally of President Trump.
Mr. Mamdani made the announcement during remarks at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park on Roosevelt Island, which honors Mr. Roosevelt’s famous speech on human rights, including freedom of speech. He called ABC’s decision to suspend Mr. Kimmel in the face of pressure from the Trump administration an attack on freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
“The message that it sends to each and every American across this country is a message that the First Amendment is no longer a right that can be counted on, but rather that it is government which will determine what should and should not be discussed, what can and cannot be spoken,” Mr. Mamdani said.
Mr. Kirk was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while speaking to students at Utah Valley University. Police have charged Tyler Robinson, 22, with aggravated murder, citing text messages he sent to his romantic partner about Mr. Kirk, in which Mr. Robinson said that he had “had enough of his hatred.”
Mr. Kirk’s comments about immigrants, Jews, the L.G.B.T.Q. community and Black people were characterized by many as hate speech.
During a monologue last week, Mr. Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Conservative activists have organized around Mr. Kirk’s killing, and Mr. Trump and others have sought to punish those they feel have spoken disrespectfully about him. Mr. Trump has invoked Mr. Kirk’s death in an attempt to silence his political opponents and attack the left.
Mr. Mamdani said he was canceling his appearance at the town hall as a way to prevent the right’s response to Mr. Kirk’s death from being normalized, and said he was trying to “protect the freedoms that we hold so dear.” Mr. Trump and the F.C.C. were seeking to “intimidate the media,” he added.
During his speech, Mr. Mamdani quoted Mr. Roosevelt and also linked the suspension of Mr. Kimmel’s show to his signature campaign issue of affordability. The candidate noted that with the show off the air, the people who help produce it, from the writers to the engineers, may no longer have the “ability to afford to live in the city that they call home.” Mr. Kimmel’s show is filmed in Los Angeles.
Mr. Mamdani said he would seek to hold another town hall to answer questions directly from the public and that he would continue to engage with journalists from ABC-affiliated stations.
He also sought to link two of his opponents, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams, to the Trump administration. Both men, Mr. Mamdani said, had demonstrated “cowardice” and were “looking to the White House for their path to their future ambitions.”
The New York Times has reported that Mr. Cuomo spoke to Mr. Trump about the mayoral race and told business leaders that he did not “personally” want to fight the president. Mr. Trump’s advisers also floated offering a job to Mr. Adams in an attempt to clear the field for a one-on-one race between Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Cuomo.
Mr. Adams was accused earlier this year of engaging in a quid pro quo with Mr. Trump after the Justice Department abandoned his federal corruption charges in exchange for his help with Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda.
Last week, the mayor said he wanted to reverse a city Department of Education policy that allows students to use the bathroom most closely associated with their gender. His remarks came one day after the Trump administration threatened to cut millions of dollars in funding because of the guidelines.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said Mr. Mamdani was seeking to avoid answering tough questions such as when he would apologize to the New York Police Department for past remarks calling the department racist. Mr. Adams’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jeffery C. Mays is a Times reporter covering politics with a focus on New York City Hall.
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