Category: Politics

INGLEWOOD, California — FIFA paid tribute to California’s Native American tribes as part of the pregame festivities ahead of Friday’s match at SoFi Stadium, the tournament’s first in the United States.

So-called native land acknowledgments have become common in North America, especially on the West Coast of the United States and across Canada, but have faced criticism and ridicule as the “latest woke ritual,” as one Wall Street Journal commentary put it.

The prerecorded video that played as the stadium filled up with U.S. and Paraguay fans acknowledged the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation and Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians, among others, as “the original inhabitants of Los Angeles County.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s campaign-style efforts to win support from local political officials across the United States last year included visits with tribal leaders, POLITICO reported at the time.

​Politics

BARGERSVILLE, Ind. — Sen. Todd Young settled into a booth at a Belgian-style brewhouse in a suburb just south of Indianapolis to watch Canada square off against Bosnia and Herzegovina—a little bleary-eyed after a storm-stricken flight back from Washington left him in Columbus, Ohio.

His flight got redirected to Columbus after midnight, where he had to stay overnight. He boarded a flight this morning to Indianapolis, where he would spend just one night at home before jetting to New Jersey Saturday for the Brazil vs. Morocco match where he would headline a fundraiser for a Republican colleague that Young declined to name.

Nothing could keep Young, a co-chair of the Congressional Soccer Caucus, perhaps the Senate’s biggest soccer fan and likely its only member who can score off a scissors kick, from watching the tournament.

On this afternoon, the second of the tournament, he was here to watch a game with POLITICO and discuss the geopolitics of the day.

“One of the things I’m hopeful for is a really good showing by the United States, so that the game of soccer in the U.S. can use this as a springboard or a catalyst to continue to grow quite a bit into the next decade or so,” Young said.

He had blocked off tonight’s game to watch the U.S.’s opening match versus Paraguay with his soccer-playing daughter.

Young is also one of the key Republicans who is using the World Cup to squeeze Democrats on extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as it expires today. Democrats have refused to support even a short-term extension of the law ever since President Donald Trump nominated Bill Pulte, a political ally with no national security experience, to serve as acting DNI.

“It would be a lot of finger-pointing,” Young said of a potential domestic security lapse. “You should just pull out every stop right now to make sure that there are no problems.”

When Canada went down 1-0 in the 21st minute, he was less interested in the fact that our allies were losing — “they’re very close allies and important trading partners, and increasingly good at soccer, a new export for that country,” he told me — and more interested in the quality of the goal itself.

He dialed in on a replay of Jovo Lukić’s set piece goal.

“Hell of a goal: slip header, near-bar run,” said Young, nursing a Belgian-style blonde.

As halftime approached, our conversation turned to 2028, and the fact that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a fellow Republican, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, were expected to share box seats.

“Oh, that’s good for the country,” Young said, “Good for Marco. And good for Gavin.”

Young, who has spent a significant amount of time thinking about the GOP’s future, was less enthusiastic at answering a question about who might be at the top of his party’s own ticket in 2028. Was he more Team Rubio or Team Vice President JD Vance, a fellow former Midwestern senator with whom he built a relationship before Vance’s ascension?

“Oh, shit,” Young said. “I’m Team USA, brother. I’m Team USA.”

​Politics

DEPARTMENT OF UNFORCED ERRORS: Mayor Zohran Mamdani held an annual Puerto Rican heritage event today at Gracie Mansion that underscored a growing tiff.

The afternoon celebration was pared-down. Prominent leaders never received an invite or declined to attend. And Nuyoricans were initially told it wasn’t going to happen at all.

Roughly 200 people milled about the ornate entertaining room in the mayor’s official residence on the Upper East Side. A smattering of elected officials past and present were there, among them state Sens. Gustavo Rivera and Kristen Gonzalez and former Council members Rafael Salamanca and Carlina Rivera.

“New York City government has not done its part to serve Puerto Rican New Yorkers. Our City Hall is determined to change that,” Mamdani told the crowd, citing his administration’s plan to build municipal grocery stores in East Harlem and the Bronx.

The vibe, however, was a bit off.

In a matter of weeks, the mayor’s office has turned what’s normally a routine and low-stakes way of keeping in good stead with the Puerto Rican community into a self-inflicted political wound that comes as the democratic socialist tries more broadly to sweep out an old guard of Latino elected officials.

“There are people who are still upset about this,” said Erica González, former executive editor of El Diario La Prensa, the oldest, largest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the country. “It’s begging the question about what the treatment of the Puerto Rican community is going to be.”

Upon taking office, Mamdani created an outreach division called the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement, which seeks to replicate the success of the volunteer army that helped propel him to victory (and in the process provide a taxpayer-funded boost to Mamdani’s reelection campaign). As POLITICO previously reported, the office also absorbed — and de-prioritized — several longstanding outreach divisions that help plan and execute events like today’s Gracie Mansion fiesta.

Earlier this month, a mass engagement representative told Puerto Rican leaders the annual event was not happening.

“In an effort to celebrate the National Puerto Rican Day in the company of as many working-class New Yorkers as possible, Mayor Mamdani and our administration are prioritizing his attendance at the 5th Ave Parade and the Knickerbocker Parade on June 14th instead of hosting an invitation-only reception,” Álvaro López, a former campaign staffer and DSA organizer who now works in the Office of Mass Engagement, wrote in an email.

Outrage inevitably followed. The mayor’s office quickly disavowed the email and said a reception was indeed in the works.

But at least some invitations didn’t go out until last week. Several prominent people weren’t contacted at all, and notable Puerto Rican political figures in the city — like former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito — were no-shows. On top of that, today’s midday event didn’t keep with the tradition of throwing a large-scale, invite-only evening bash ahead of Sunday’s annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in Midtown. (The mayor’s office said heritage events will no longer feature a large tent in Gracie Mansion’s backyard). Some community leaders upset about the Mamdani snub held an alternative event Thursday evening in Brooklyn.

“It concerns me there is someone in the administration that thinks there’s some mythical, Downton Abbey class of Puerto Ricans that shows up to Gracie,” González said.

López, the Mass Engagement staffer whose email triggered much of the backlash, was on hand for Friday’s Gracie reception, tasked with checking in media at the front entrance. When a Playbook reporter arrived, López questioned why POLITICO should be allowed in. When asked why, López said he was only joking.

The dustup over the reception doesn’t seem to have affected Mamdani’s poll numbers with Latino voters. In a Data for Progress survey of New York City voters conducted May 20-26, nearly 60 percent of Latino respondents viewed the mayor either somewhat or very favorably.

The mayor is creating rifts elsewhere as well, though.

Mamdani endorsed a democratic socialist challenger to Rep. Adriano Espaillat in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, touching off a generational battle between older Dominican voters and younger, more affluent supporters of Darializa Avila Chevalier. And in Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Mamdani is betting against the chosen successor to Rep. Nydia Velázquez, one of the city’s most prominent Puerto Rican figures.

Velázquez was among those who skipped Mamdani’s Friday afternoon event, vaguely telling Playbook she had “too many things” to do. But in a sign of her irritation with Mamdani, she questioned why he threw a FIFA soccer event in Gracie’s backyard Thursday evening, saying it seemed like the same sort of private party his office is saying they want to move away from.

“We have to be clear about what is the policy going forward,” she said. “Because otherwise people will feel: Why them and not us?” — Chris Sommerfeldt  and Joe Anuta

FROM CITY HALL

ZOMBIE DISASSEMBLING: Yet another member of former Mayor Eric Adams’ legally dubious Charter Revision Commission has resigned — putting the zombie-like panel on the brink of extinction.

Ismael Claudio, a Brooklyn pastor who acted as a faith adviser to Adams while he was still mayor, resigned from the commission Monday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who was granted anonymity to discuss the issue.

Kayla Mamelak, Adams’ former press secretary who also sits on the commission, wouldn’t comment on Claudio’s resignation. Claudio couldn’t be reached for comment.

Charter revision commissions, which are convened by mayors to propose ballot referendum questions for local elections, can only legally operate if they have at least nine members. With Claudio out, Adams’ panel only has nine members — the bare minimum to live on.

Three other members, Robert Tucker, Fernando Mateo and Shams DaBaron, also resigned in the past few weeks. Another two appointees, Martin Connor and Alfred Curtis, never filed the requisite paperwork to join the commission in the first place.

At least one additional member, retired labor leader Denis Hughes, hasn’t shown up to any of the commission’s public hearings. Mamelak insisted he is still a member of the commission, though. Hughes couldn’t be reached for comment.

Ultimately, resignations may be the smallest problem for the panel, which Adams launched on his final day in office.

Mamdani ordered Adams’ commission disbanded in late May, using a new authority granted him by the state. Mamdani also launched his own Charter Revision Commission and tasked it with advancing ballot questions for November related to improving government efficiency.

Randy Mastro, Adams’ former first deputy mayor and the counsel for Adams’ commission, has insisted Mamdani’s nullification order wasn’t lawful and is forging ahead.

On the same day Mamdani ordered Adams’ commission disbanded, the panel voted to advance a November ballot question that would, if approved by voters, establish an open primary system in local elections. Under such a system, it would likely be harder for democratic socialists like Mamdani to be elected, as the pool of primary voters would be expanded to include more conservative voters — a wrinkle that has reinforced many observers’ belief that Adams created his commission to deliberately stymie his successor.

In addition to voting to advance that referendum question, Adams’ commission has continued to hold public hearings to consider more questions for the November ballot. Among the additional proposals they’re looking at is a ballot question to create new, unspecified initiatives aimed at combating antisemitism in New York.

It’s unclear how the Adams commission’s actions — including those already taken — would be impacted if enough members resign for the panel to be nullified by default.

Mamdani’s administration has maintained that nothing the Adams commission is doing holds legal relevance since the mayor killed it weeks ago. — Chris Sommerfeldt 

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

PAC IT UP, PART I: A shadowy super PAC war has descended upon the Democratic primary to take on Rep. Mike Lawler.

Progressive Champions PAC, a group that filed with the Federal Election Commission last month and has yet to disclose its donors, has placed close to $1 million on a TV advertising buy attacking Democratic candidate Cait Conley in the final days of the campaign.

Democrats were quick to accuse the group of being backed by GOP interests, pointing to a bank it shares with another PAC with ties to Republicans that spent in other Democratic primaries across the country.

It’s not unheard of for the opposite party to get involved in a primary across the aisle in an attempt to elevate candidates they think will be easier to defeat in the general election.

The ad hits Conley, an Army veteran who has drawn the support of national groups, over Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The narrator states that she is “bankrolled by firms partnered with a major ICE contractor targeting immigrants” — a reference to reporting that firms she consulted for aided immigration enforcement. She has repeatedly denied this claim.

“True activists fought ICE’s atrocities, but Conley kept collecting,” the ad continues. “That’s not progressive, that’s profiteering.”

In a statement, Conley said that “Republicans are seriously underestimating NY-17 Democrats who will see through their political lies and deceit.”

The PAC didn’t respond to Playbook’s request for comment. Its site states that its mission is to “elect bold, progressive candidates up and down the ballot who will fight for working families, protect our democracy, and build a future that works for everyone.”

Conley is one of five candidates running for the Democratic nod. Her two most high-profile challengers are Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson, who like Conley is running as a moderate, and Tarrytown Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley, who has sought to claim the progressive lane. Some Democrats worry that a far-left candidate would make flipping the battleground seat more difficult in November.

Conley also placed some blame for the PAC attack on Davidson, who has public messaging on her site echoing a similar sentiment as the ad. Davidson also ran a spot hitting Conley on the immigration issue.

In response, Davidson in a statement said “Mike Lawler and Republican dark money groups have no place meddling in our Democratic primary. Full stop.” (Phillips-Staley also condemned the spending.)

Lawler hasn’t shied away from hitting his potential Democratic opponents throughout the primary. But on Friday, his campaign insisted it couldn’t be bothered by the messiness across the aisle.

“Frankly, we don’t care who survives this clown car primary because every single one of them supports raising taxes on working people, making New York a Sanctuary State, and doesn’t have an independent or bipartisan bone in their body,” Lawler campaign manager Ciro Riccardi said in a statement. — Madison Fernandez

PAC IT UP, PART II: There’s yet another super PAC in the high-dollar Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.

Guardrails Alliance, a super PAC that registered with the FEC last month, has made a six-figure ad buy in the race, according to the ad tracker AdImpact. Public filings with the Federal Communications Commission show that the ad will refer to Assemblymember Alex Bores and focus on artificial intelligence — making it the latest AI-related PAC in the race.

Bores’ work on landmark AI regulation in the state Legislature has attracted millions of dollars both in support of and against him amid his congressional bid. Think Big — a super PAC backed by leaders at OpenAI and the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, among others who claim such regulation stifles innovation — has targeted Bores with more than $6 million in spending, according to FEC filings. A handful of other PACs, many of which have ties to those in the tech industry who are friendlier to AI guardrails, have spent $8 million supporting him, per the FEC.

Super PAC spending has been a sore spot in the race. In the closing days of the campaign, Bores’ opponents have expressed frustration with the heavy super PAC spending in support of him. — Madison Fernandez

BERNIE COMES TO TOWN: Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and democratic socialist forefather, is coming to New York on Thursday in a last-minute push to boost progressive congressional candidates.

The New York Times first reported the event is set to feature Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who is running in the open race to succeed Velázquez; Darializa Avila Chevalier, who’s challenging Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat; and former city Comptroller Brad Lander, who’s looking to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman. All three are endorsed by Mamdani, who is also expected to join the rally.

Sanders’ team confirmed the event to Playbook.

Sanders, who is wildly popular in New York, previously endorsed Valdez and Lander. Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier are members of the Democratic Socialists of America and are backed by the city chapter in their bids; the two cross-endorsed each other.

But Lander has tried to keep some distance, despite appearing in a joint advertisement with Mamdani’s congressional slate. When asked at a press conference earlier this week why he would appear in that ad with Avila Chevalier, who attended a pro-Palestinian rally the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in 2023 — the same rally Lander said he left the DSA over — he said it was an “opportunity to show New Yorkers that politics can be a team sport.” He also clarified that he has not endorsed candidates in any other congressional primaries.

Avila Chevalier told reporters last week that she went to that rally to “stand against” Israel engaging in “a response that is often disproportionate and creates a greater loss of life.” She added that she has “condemned Hamas” and does “not believe that celebrating the loss of anybody’s life is OK.”

Avila Chevalier’s profile has been heightened in recent weeks, following Mamdani’s endorsement. But with that has also come more scrutiny — particularly of her social media activity from the beginning of the decade. One such post criticized what she called Sanders’ “liberal Zionism.” But Avila Chevalier has repeatedly said that she has changed in the years since she made those posts and has accused Espaillat of relitigating old posts to distract from other issues in the race. — Jason Beeferman and Madison Fernandez

WORLD CUP WATCH

MOHAWK VALLEY MADNESS: When Bosnian refugees started arriving in Utica in the mid-1990s, it was a down-on-its-heels upstate Rust Belt city that had seen its population crater by roughly a third from a midcentury peak of just over 100,000 residents.

“I thought I came to another war zone when I came here,” said Hanka Grabovica, who arrived in the Mohawk Valley city in 2001 when she was 16 years old, citing the prevalence of boarded-up buildings and garbage on the streets. “Utica was pretty bad back then.”

Grabovica was part of a wave of Bosnian refugees who settled in Utica after fleeing the brutal war in their native country — and its messy aftermath — that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia. Exact figures are tough to pin down, but it’s believed that about 6,000 Bosnians now live in Utica — or nearly 10 percent of the total population.

The city’s unlikely emergence as an epicenter of Bosnian American culture will probably never be more prominently on display than this afternoon when Bosnia and Herzegovina faces Canada on the second day of the World Cup. It’s just the second time Bosnia has qualified for the tournament since it became an independent country in 1992.

The dramatic and unlikely way that the country punched its ticket to North America — knocking off four-time World Cup champion Italy via penalty kicks in a one-match playoff — has heightened the delirium among Bosnians from Sarajevo to St. Louis (the largest enclave of Bosnians in the U.S.) to Utica.

“Seeing this national team progress to the World Cup is definitely something amazing,” said Sandro Sehic, secretary of the Bosnian American Community Association of Utica, noting that many ethnic Serbians and Croatians who live in the country still refuse to play for the national team owing to lingering tensions from the war. “Bosnia is still struggling politically, socially. There are still so many problems that are still affecting the country.” Read more from Paul Demko in POLITICO  

IN OTHER NEWS

— GROCERY EXPANSION: City Council member Jennifer Gutiérrez introduced a bill to expand Mamdani’s city-owned grocery story plan and make it a permanent part of city government. (The City Reporter)

— WHO CALLS THE SHOTS: GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman called Gov. Kathy Hochul’s newly passed bill that requires children to be vaccinated for summer camp “un-American.” (Gothamist)

— BUG INVASION: Tick season is in full swing with a rare case of Lyme disease being detected in the Empire State for the first time. (CBS News)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

​Politics

Just after halftime in their country’s match against South Africa on Thursday afternoon, Mexican embassy officials were nervous.

Forward Julián Quiñones scored a goal in the first nine minutes, and spirits were high at the embassy’s Washington watch party where mini-burritos, cervezas and — in a nod to the bilateral relationship — McDonald’s hamburgers and walking tacos were flowing freely. But South Africa’s shots on Mexico’s goal were creating staccatos of panic as the score remained 1-0.

“So far, so good — but it could be better,” one diplomat quipped.

Talk to Mexican officials, diplomats and business leaders, and it’s a sentiment that’s apropos of the current state of the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Mexico as the two countries, along with Canada, kick off six weeks of FIFA World Cup festivities.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum — who did not attend the opening match — has earned plaudits on both sides of the border for her behind-the-scenes work to cultivate a solid working relationship with President Donald Trump, despite vastly different political orientations and persistent friction over migration, drug trafficking and trade.

Sheinbaum’s domestic challenges were also on full display outside the historic Azteca stadium Thursday, where hundreds of protesters demanding pay raises for teachers and more resources for the search of 130,000 missing persons in Mexico clashed with police and threw cones and other projectiles into the security perimeter.

Now, at what should be a continental high-water mark — as North America unites to host the World Cup — the relationship is instead facing its greatest test. Tensions are running high over the future of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a brewing extradition standoff over several Morena party officials — including the governor of Sinaloa — and Trump’s fresh threats on Wednesday to target drugs “coming in by land” via Mexico.

“It’s on a knife’s edge,” said Arturo Sarukhán, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S. during the Bush and Obama administrations. “The paradox is that all of this is playing out as the World Cup kicks off, a World Cup that should have been a moment to celebrate the promise of North America, and to talk about the future of a North American century.”

The strain on the bilateral relationship beyond the World Cup is existential for Mexico — about 80 percent of the country’s exports flow to the United States — but also for the U.S., Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner, with two-way trade topping $872 billion in 2025, accounting for roughly 15 percent of all goods coming into the U.S. And the integration runs deep into American supply chains, like autos and electronics, meaning that anything that seriously destabilizes the relationship is bad economic news for the U.S.

For now, the anxiety is largely one-directional, as Trump world remains broadly bullish on the U.S.-Mexico relationship even amid genuine turbulence. Two CIA officers were killed in an April crash in Chihuahua that revealed U.S. intelligence operatives working in the field alongside Mexican state investigators without, Mexican officials say, the federal government’s authorization. The Sinaloa indictments followed just over a week later.

“It’s a pressure point, but I also think if you ask people who work on this, they’d say that — relative to where we’ve been in the past — the security cooperation with Mexico is pretty good under Sheinbaum,” said Alex Gray, a former senior National Security Council official in the first Trump administration. “I think things are, all things considered, not bad.”

Even the original architects of the 2026 World Cup bid, which was won during the first Trump administration, agree that cracks in the U.S.-Mexico relationship were a more serious issue eight years ago.

North American soccer executives told POLITICO that bringing the U.S. together with Mexico wasn’t easy at a time when Trump was calling NAFTA — the precursor to USMCA — “a disaster” and demanding Mexico pay for his border wall.

White House aides laud Sheinbaum’s cooperation on everything from preventing the spread of Ebola heading into the World Cup to efforts to combat drug trafficking. A senior White House official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the bilateral relationship, described it simply as “good.”

“I mean, there have been shared responsibilities, like, for example, the whole Ebola thing, right? We worked with them and Canada to ensure that there is proper vetting of individuals coming into the countries,” the official said. “We’re obviously working with her on combatting cartels on many fronts, so it’s good.”

The Mexican embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

Yet Mexican officials have watched the relationship unfold with a kind of cognitive dissonance, marked by progress in one lane and crisis in another. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s meeting last month with Sheinbaum in Mexico, for instance, was seen as a positive step for the bilateral relationship, particularly for the security cooperation that has underpinned it.

But that goodwill is being tested on several fronts. The Morena indictments are creating a domestic quagmire for Sheinbaum, who is demanding “overwhelming and irrefutable proof” before moving against Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya and the nine other current and former Mexican officials who have been charged by the U.S. Justice Department with drug trafficking and weapons offenses.

Trade talks between the two countries had also been going reasonably well — so much so that the two have been talking without Canada even at the table. But Trump on Wednesday injected a fresh dose of uncertainty by saying he was “not looking to renew” the pact and dismissed the notion that the U.S. needed either of its neighbors. And the countries are all but certain to miss the July 1 date to renew the agreement, with a third round of talks scheduled in Mexico City the week of July 20.

The uncertainty has left proponents of the bilateral relationship nervously reading the tea leaves of Trump’s public appearances for any indication of growing irritation with Sheinbaum.

“What I’m seeing is it’s not just one single relationship: We have several individual and topic-based agendas. You have something very good in one hand and something struggling in the other. What we’re trying obviously is to have an umbrella relationship that is good, that makes the other individual agendas also good,” said Enrique Perret, managing director of the U.S.-Mexico Foundation. “But right now we don’t have that good umbrella relationship. That’s what we’re missing.”

The two leaders still have yet to meet at the White House, a move that some south of the border see as a carefully calculated effort on Sheinbaum’s part to not take any unnecessary gambles with the relationship, and avoid the kind of Oval Office spectacle that became commonplace between Trump and world leaders last year.

The two have only met once in person — at the official draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in December. Whether they’ll appear together at any games in the coming weeks remains an open question.

​Politics

The nation’s conservative advocacy groups will be well represented at the Great American State Fair, a two-week-long exposition celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary on the National Mall that is blessed by President Donald Trump and his allies.

The fair is organized by Freedom 250, a nonprofit set up by the president and his allies to promote the country’s semiquincentennial. Freedom 250 has clashed with — and overshadowed — America250, a bipartisan organization chartered by Congress a decade ago to prepare for the country’s anniversary.

Conservative organizations featured at the fair, according to a release sent on Friday by Freedom 250, include America Prays, a coalition of evangelical and other religious groups that calls for weekly prayer for the United States of America; the American Principles Project, a prominent political advocacy organization; and the Association of Mature American Citizens, which pitches itself as a rival to the AARP.

Joining them is Hillsdale College, a small Christian liberal arts school known for its conservative bent, and Focus on the Family, a prominent anti-LGBTQ+ ministry that describes its mission as one dedicated to fostering “marriages that go the distance, equip parents to raise great kids and put Jesus Christ at the center of homes worldwide.”

Some Democrats have charged that Trump has taken the bipartisanship out of the monumental anniversary. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) in February said that the administration was working to “hijack the country’s 250th anniversary and sell access, hide his donors and rewrite history.” Also in February, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) launched a probe into Freedom 250’s fundraising practices.

The fair will run from June 25 to July 10, “and transform the National Mall into a living showcase of America’s past, present, and future,” organizers announced on Friday.

“PRAY.COM is honored to be participating in the Great American State Fair as an opportunity to connect with people from across the country,” Steve Gatena, founder and CEO of Pray.com — one of the lead organizers of America Prays — said in a statement. “Our mission is to grow faith and cultivate community through technology, and we look forward to sharing resources that support prayer, encouragement, and spiritual well-being.”

None of the other organizations immediately responded to requests for comment.

Painter Scott LoBaido, whose website promotes a print of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani blowing up Manhattan, will also be doing live art at the fair, according to the Friday release.

Organizers said more than 100 states and institutions will be represented with booths at the fair. The event is also drawing companies with no specific political affiliation, from C-SPAN to Meta and tractor company John Deere.

“Americans have been arguing at the dinner table for 250 years and somehow still showed up to the same Fourth of July party,” Freedom 250 spokesperson Rachel Reisner said in a statement when asked about the conservative groups’ participation. “We’re not stopping now. The Great American State Fair, July 4 fireworks, the whole spectacular once-in-a-generation 250th anniversary blowout — it’s happening, and your neighbor with the opposing bumper sticker is going to be standing right next to you, probably enjoying it just as much. Freedom 250 is a celebration for America — which, last we checked, includes all of it. Every single star on that flag. See you there.”

But some states have chosen to sit out. At least six states — Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Oregon — will officially not be sending anyone to the fair, NOTUS reported on Thursday. Freedom 250 is bringing in other institutions from those states, the outlet wrote.

In May, several musical artists dropped out of planned performances at the fair after learning of its ties to Trump, prompting the president to announce plans to hold a political rally instead, scheduled for June 24.

“It will be special at every level — A Rally to end all Rallies!” he wrote on Truth Social last week. “We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we’ve told them all to stay home. All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!”

​Politics

VERY SUPERSTITIOUS: For the first three quarters, it looked like the San Antonio Spurs were going to cream the Knicks in last night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

But in an epic comeback, the Knicks overcame the Spurs’ 29-point lead — a new record in an NBA Finals game — and beat San Antonio 107-106, putting the hometown team just one win away from claiming its first championship in over five decades.

In New York political circles, there was an almost singular explanation for the unbelievable come-from-behind victory: The Trump curse had been lifted.

“THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO BLESSED MSG TODAY TO GET THE STANK VIBES OUT,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X just before midnight. “YOUR SERVICE IS APPRECIATED.”

The progressive lawmaker’s all-caps missive was a reference to superstitious Knicks fans burning sage outside Madison Square Garden to cleanse it of what they saw as the bad juju President Donald Trump cast over the team by attending Monday’s Game 3 (which the Spurs won 115-111).

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards suggested Staten Island’s own Wu-Tang Clan — which performed last night’s halftime show at MSG — had a hand in rooting out the bad vibes. “Wu-Tang is for the children!!!” Richards wrote on X in response to a video of the rap group’s performance captioned: “Wu-Tang Clan have broken Donald Trump’s curse on the Knicks.”

No matter what brand of superstition is at play, it’s unmistakable that the Knicks’ playoff prowess has led New Yorkers to search for otherworldly explanations — and it seems to be the only thing local politicians can talk about.

In an Instagram video posted late last night, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested there was a more cerebral catalyst for the Knicks’ latest win.

“Wemby tried to taunt the Knicks when they were up by about 29, suggesting that he was in our heads,” Jeffries said in a video, referring to Spurs center Victor Wembanyama. “No. Actually Wemby, we were in your head.”

For his part, Mayor Zohran Mamdani turned to God for guidance about the Knicks.

“Knicks in five — inshallah, baby, let’s go,” he practically shouted on Hot 97 radio this morning, using the Arabic term for “God willing.”

Game 5 of the Finals is Saturday in San Antonio. If the Knicks win, they will claim the championship trophy for the first time since 1973.

Not everything has been peaches and cream in the Big Apple when it comes to the Knickerbockers, though.

An NYPD spokesperson said 56 Knicks fans were taken into custody last night after massive and destructive crowds converged near The Garden to “celebrate” the victory.

According to the spokesperson, 10 officers were injured in the rampage, including one who got hit in the head with a glass bottle as the crowds jumped on top of moving vehicles, tried to flip over a parked cab and set off fireworks.

“This demonstrates exactly why the NYPD has increased our presence in and around Madison Square Garden,” the police spokesperson said.

The chaos unfolded after Knicks owner James Dolan canceled last night’s ticketed watch party outside MSG because he was angry with Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch for blocking unauthorized pedestrian traffic in a large swath of Midtown around the arena due to security concerns. — Chris Sommerfeldt

From the Capitol

MESSAGE RECEIVED: Gov. Kathy Hochul responded today to White House border czar Tom Homan’s threat of an ICE surge into the Empire State.

“It’s not how we do things in New York,” Hochul said at an event in Queens. “Maybe Washington is a different breed there, and they think that intimidation and creating fear is a way to govern, and we’re just rejecting that here in the state of New York. That’s not who we are, never has been, never will be.”

Homan’s threats come after Hochul and state lawmakers sealed a deal on a package of measures meant to protect undocumented immigrants, following ICE’s deportation operation in Minneapolis. The bills would limit civil deportation warrants from being executed in sensitive locations and prevent law enforcement, including ICE agents, from wearing masks.

Homan blamed Hochul for the threatened surge after she signed legislation ending so-called 287(g) agreements that enable local law enforcement to share resources with federal authorities.

Hochul said such a surge would be “contrary” to what Trump previously told her. The governor also mentioned that Homan’s reasoning does not apply since only nine counties in New York previously participated in the 287(g) program — and none of those include any of New York City’s five counties.

“New York City, where we’re predicting he’ll send the agents to, has never had a 287(g) agreement. They’ve never been allowed to use the jails. Never been allowed to use local police enforcement,” the governor said. “It is irrational. It shows that they do not comprehend what is happening in the state of New York.” — Leah Clark

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS: A federal judge found former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander not guilty of misdemeanor obstruction Thursday for blocking an elevator while protesting last year outside an immigrant holding area.

Lander was hit with the obstruction charge in September while demonstrating in support of detained immigrants at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. He was offered a deal to drop the charge but opted instead for a trial to draw attention to the federal government’s immigration policies.

Lander said he was there with state legislators to view the facility’s conditions, not to purposefully block an elevator — and that he would have moved if asked. In reading his findings, Judge Henry Ricardo described Lander’s testimony as consistent with video evidence, noting that his movements didn’t suggest he was purposefully trying to block the elevator and that Lander appeared “tired and a bit resigned.”

“No offense to Mr. Lander,” the judge said.

Lander — who entered the courtroom in good spirits and holding a Knicks hat — told reporters after the verdict: “I didn’t feel tired.”

“I felt an urgency to show up that day and try to fight what ICE is doing,” he said.

After a month’s delay, Lander finally had his first day in court Wednesday — less than two weeks before the primary election — bringing immigration even more to the forefront in the waning days of his campaign against Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman.

Goldman, who often highlights his oversight visits at immigrant detention centers and his “triage center” to support detainees near 26 Federal Plaza, has repeatedly criticized Lander for his approach to immigration. On Wednesday, he referred to Lander’s case as “performative” and “self-promoting.” At a debate last week, Goldman chided him for the rhetorical refrain that he puts his “body on the line” for immigrants and for fundraising off of it.

“While Brad never did get the information he sought from ICE, I have all of that information from my weekly oversight visits and would be happy to brief him,” Goldman said in a statement.

Read more from Madison Fernandez in POLITICO. 

POLL POSITION: The race between Rep. Adriano Espaillat and primary challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier is close in the final stretch of the campaign, according to a pro-Avila Chevalier poll.

The survey, conducted by Data for Progress for Justice Democrats, the progressive group that recruited the challenger, found Avila Chevalier with 39 percent of support compared to Espaillat’s 35 percent. Twenty-two percent of respondents were undecided.

The poll was conducted among 319 likely Democratic primary voters from June 3 to 9, after Mamdani endorsed Avila Chevalier — and as pro-Espaillat entities bombarded the airwaves with negative attacks against her. It has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 5 percentage points.

The survey also shows that 86 percent of respondents in the district either have a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of the mayor. Avila Chevalier is leaning heavily into Mamdani’s endorsement.

There’s no public polling in the race, though it’s evident Espaillat’s allies are anticipating a tight battle, considering the millions of dollars being poured into the race on his behalf in the homestretch. — Madison Fernandez

FROM CITY HALL

2029 VISION: Most political players in New York are focused on this month’s primary elections — but Mamdani is already looking well beyond them.

In a text message blast this afternoon, the mayor asked supporters to donate “any amount” they can to his 2029 reelection campaign, telling them he needs to start fundraising now because the opposition will “be better funded, better organized and ready to spend earlier than before.”

“Their fundraising is constant and prolific,” he wrote in the text obtained by Playbook. “In closed-door meetings, wealthy donors and insider operatives consider how to influence our politics year-round. That’s how our opponents secured the resources to spend $83 million against our movement last year … That’s why we’re making investments in our movement starting right now.”

Mamdani’s missive did not identify the individuals behind the opposition he described.

But a group called NYC Common Sense, spearheaded by former independent mayoral candidate Jim Walden and political consultant Phil Singer, launched last month with a stated goal of fighting his agenda with ads, policy papers and lawsuits. The group, whose formation was first reported by The New York Times, has already raised $1 million from as-of-yet unidentified donors.

Mamdani’s pivot to 2029 fundraising indicates he’s taking the nascent opposition to his democratic socialist project seriously. Trip Yang, a longtime Democratic strategist, acknowledged it’s relatively early to fundraise for 2029. Still, he said it’s a smart move.

“A strong early fundraising number is important to show the reelection is well-positioned,” Yang said.

Read more from Chris Sommerfeldt in POLITICO.

STILL LOADING: City Council Speaker Julie Menin exuded confidence today over the newly introduced protest buffer zone bill around education facilities, which has the backing of 35 council members, a veto-proof super majority.

“I did speak with the mayor about the bill. We had a brief conversation about it,” Menin said at a press conference. “I think the new bill really addresses some concerns that we had heard.”

Menin said the revised measure would still achieve the original proposal’s goals but more narrowly defines which types of locations are included. Universities, which were flash points for some of the country’s most heated demonstrations, have been excluded from the new bill.

The original measure was vetoed by Mamdani in April after he raised concerns about its broad definition of educational facilities and the potential impacts on protests tied to ICE, fossil fuel divestment and Palestinian rights.

He allowed a similar bill to become law in April while voicing opposition to both buffer-zone bills’ framing of “all protest as a security concern.”

A spokesperson for the mayor said the administration is still “reviewing the new version of the legislation.”  — Gelila Negesse

IN OTHER NEWS

— BAIT AND SWITCH: A year after New York City banned broker fees, renters say the charges never really left. (Gothamist)

— COURT-ORDERED VISITS: New York will begin to require judges to make recurring visits to prisons after years of a long-neglected oversight rule not being met. (The City Reporter)

— STRAPPED FOR CASH: The Mamdani administration is considering invoking a fiscal exception to delay required payments to nonprofits, citing cash constraints. (NBC New York)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

​Politics