CNN political analyst Ana Navarro found herself in a tight spot and quickly redirected the conversation after mistakenly claiming that an ISIS-inspired assault near the residence of Zohran Mamdani over the weekend was aimed at the New York City mayor.

Contrary to her assertion, law enforcement reports indicate that suspects Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, attempted to set off improvised explosive devices in proximity to a gathering of far-right demonstrators outside Gracie Mansion. These protesters had assembled to oppose what they referred to as an ‘Islamic takeover of New York City,’ with a focus on Mamdani.

The mix-up occurred during a Tuesday panel discussion on CNN NewsNight, where Navarro and others were evaluating whether Republicans were exploiting the failed attack to fuel anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Navarro commented to the panel, “What strikes me as ironic is that some of these remarks seem to stem from the supposed attack on Mayor Mamdani in New York, who was raised in the Muslim faith. Isn’t that right?”

However, former New York City Council Republican Joe Borelli promptly corrected her, stating, “The attack wasn’t directed at Mayor Mamdani. It targeted protesters—individuals demonstrating against Mamdani.”

Former New York City Council Republican Joe Borelli was quick to flag: ‘The attack wasn’t on Mayor Mamdani. It was attacking protesters, people protesting Mamdani.’ 

Navarro insisted over him, ‘It was at his house!’ – making the claim twice as Borelli tried to explain.  

The retired politician politely persisted, not long after host Abby Phillip made the same mistake, but avoided any on-air pushback.

CNN commentator Ana Navarro was left scrambling on Tuesday’s NewsNight after falsely stating the ISIS-inspired attack near Zohran Mamdani’s home over the weekend had been launched against the New York mayor

Another panelist was quick to flag that the suspects had attacked far-right protesters who had been protesting Mamdani and the fact that he is Muslim

‘It wasn’t- to frame it as an anti-Muslim attack would actually completely reverse what happened,’ he said, adding how Balat was heard shouting, “Allahu Akbar” before hurling a bomb that didn’t go off.

At this stage, Navarro appeared to deflect – a strategy that saw the panel eventually move on from the back-and-forth between her and Borelli.

‘No, I’m not saying it wasn’t anti-Muslim – I’m saying that they’re- that Republicans are finally doing something in defense of a Muslim, in this case,’ she said.

Borelli was in the midst of offering a reply when the View host interrupted him.

‘I don’t think there’s anything a Republican in Congress could do right now that would get condemned by Mike Johnson because the practical thing is, he’s got a one-vote cushion – because Thomas Massie often votes against Republicans,’ she said.   

The conversation, at this point, trudged forward – with no more mention of Navarro’s false claim.

Her tangent did lead the panel back to its initial conversation about anti-Muslim rhetoric, after GOP Congressmen Andy Ogles and Randy Fine both called for the deportations of all Muslim people in the US due to the incident.

Phillip, while teasing said segment minutes before, made erroneous remarks almost identical to Navarro’s. 

‘The attack wasn’t on Mayor Mamdani. It was attacking protesters, people protesting Mamdani’ Former New York City Council Republican Joe Borelli told the View panelist – only to be met with an incredulous glare

She said Tuesday before going to commercial break, ‘Up next, two Republicans say Muslims don’t belong here after an attempted terror attack against New York’s Mayor, Zohran Mamdani.’

Unlike Navarro, though, Phillip was not corrected on-air.

She did issue an apology the following morning, however, after a horde of onlookers clipped the moment on social media.

‘I want to correct something I said last night,’ Phillip wrote on X early Wednesday. 

‘The bombs thrown in New York City over the weekend by ISIS-inspired attackers was thrown into a crowd of anti-Muslim protestors and not specifically targeted at Mayor Mamdani.’

‘That wording was inaccurate and I didn’t catch it ahead of time. I apologize for the error,’ she continued.

Navarro – an anti-Trump conservative who’s been with CNN since 2014 – has yet to issue an apology.

The Daily Mail has approached CNN for comment. 

CNN made another unforced error earlier Tuesday in a since-deleted tweet. It described the suspects as ‘two Pennsylvania teenagers’ who simply ‘crossed into New York City Saturday morning’

The post ‘failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting,’ according to a CNN spokesperson who spoke with the Daily Mail.

CNN made another unforced error Tuesday in a since-deleted tweet about the same case. 

It described the suspects as ‘two Pennsylvania teenagers’ who simply ‘crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather’, after both told feds they were inspired by ISIS.

‘But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home,’ it continued. 

The post ‘failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting,’ according to a CNN spokesperson who spoke with the Daily Mail.

‘It has therefore been deleted.’ 

The suspects, as of writing, have both been charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. Balat stood with counter-protesters who convened during the incident, according to a federal complaint. 

Both are also said to have told police that their intent was for the attack to be ‘even larger’ than the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, which killed three.

Officials confirmed the men traveled together from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to the protest site shortly before the incident. 

Suspects (from left) Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told police that they wanted the failed strike to be ‘even larger’ than the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, which killed three. They are currently in custody 

Both suspects told feds they were inspired by ISIS. Balat, seen with one of the improvised explosives here, stood with a group of counter-protesters who convened in response to the anti-Muslim procession

‘This was an alleged ISIS-inspired act of terrorism that could have killed American citizens. We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation,’ Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr., also said that the suspects were ‘inspired by ISIS’.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch called the failed strike ‘an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism.’

Balat and Kayumi both remain in custody, as of Wednesday.