New York City Mayor Speaks at City Hall for U.S. 250th Anniversary as Trump Plans Mount Rushmore Address

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a speech on July 3, 2026, at City Hall’s Governor’s Room to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, Washington Examiner reported. He spoke from behind a desk once used by President George Washington and was flanked by 10 recently naturalized U.S. citizens.

Mamdani, who immigrated from Uganda as a child and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018, addressed the audience for nearly 15 minutes. The event was positioned as an alternative to President Donald Trump’s planned Independence Day address from Mount Rushmore later that day.

Mamdani stated that American exceptionalism has often been defined by those told they were not exceptional. He described generations of immigrants, including Puritans, Sikhs, Quakers, Muslims, and Jewish people, who arrived after facing exclusion. “We are told that America is exceptional because we are richer, stronger, more powerful than everyone else,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani said those who led through exclusion have used division to win power. He accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of terrorizing streets by arresting illegal immigrants and criticized oligarchs who buy elections, corporate landlords, health insurance companies, and spending on bombs and bailouts.

The mayor urged citizens to continue fulfilling the Declaration of Independence and wished New Yorkers and the nation a happy Fourth of July.

Earlier in the week, Mamdani had urged residents to set thermostats to 78 degrees during a heat wave, while the New York Post reported City Hall temperatures ranged from 54 to 63 degrees.