U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is calling New York City’s Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani a “clown” pretending to be a “tough guy” for threatening to arrest Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in September for a United Nations General Assembly.

Appearing on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel, Fetterman said: “Such a tough guy to say that kind of thing. He has no way to do that. Of course, obviously America is not even part of that corrupt [International Criminal] Court. So he’s just a clown to even say that. So he won’t try that.”

Fetterman’s advice to the Ugandan-born Islamic mayor is to “just sit down and focus on the problems that they have in New York.”

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Mamdani told the New York Times on Friday: “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”

“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what will do but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end.”

When asked specifically if he would arrest Netanyahu, Mamdani replied: “That’s an active conversation with our legal department.”

Communist terrorist supporter @NYCMayor planning to arrest leader of Israel in NYC on behalf of terrorist and foreign entities. @DAGToddBlanche, @SecMullinDHS and @FBIDirectorKash, Mamdani is effectively working as a hostile foreign agent on US soil. pic.twitter.com/HBXdf87p4l

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) July 18, 2026

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., called Mamdani’s threat “pure political theater,” saying an arrest is “not going to happen” for four reasons:

“1. The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC, 2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of gov’t, 3. head-of-state immunity applies, & 4. federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.”

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is also opposing the arrest of Netanyahu, telling Jacqui Heinrich of “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News: “I’m not for creating a spectacle. The U.N. is a place that people can come to.”

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said: “Mamdani is effectively working as a hostile foreign agent on U.S. soil.”

Fetterman also discussed his threat to leave the Democratic Party if they continue to voice apparent hatred for Israel.

“Candidates in a party run on the party’s platform. If the Democratic Party puts anti-Israel kinds of terms in that platform, that would force me to kind of re-evaluate should I remain as a Democrat,” he told Bartiromo.

“Even Jewish kinds of organizations like J Street are doing events with people like Hasan Piker,” Fetterman continued.

“How can you embrace people like that, [who say] that Hamas is 1,000% better than Israel? If we became the kind of party that would embrace someone like Hasan Piker, maybe my party doesn’t want like a reasonable, common-sense kind of Democrat that reminds people that standing with Israel that at least used to be part of our core values and one of the reasons I’ve been proud to be a Democrat.”

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Fetterman on his threat to leave the Democratic Party: Even organizations like J Street are doing events with people like Hasan Piker. If we embrace someone like that, maybe my party doesn’t want a reasonable common sense Democrat that reminds people that standing with Israel… pic.twitter.com/NN2vShRkzN

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 19, 2026

Fetterman also appeared Sunday on CNN, telling anchor Jake Tapper: “If I change my party spontaneously right now, my views and my votes aren’t going to change. It’s really more of a statement.