A Michigan mayor who was asked by a CNN anchor whether she is “afraid” to govern “a majority Muslim-American city” told Media Matters she was caught “completely by surprise” by the line of questioning.

Karen Majewski, mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, appeared November 23 on CNN Newsroom and was asked by anchor Carol Costello, “You govern a majority Muslim-American city. Are you afraid?” Majewski responded by explaining that she is “not afraid,” and clarifying that she does not think the city is actually majority Muslim population-wise, though it did recently elect a majority-Muslim city council.

“I was very surprised,” Majewski said of Costello's questioning during a Monday interview with Media Matters. “What I had expected and what people usually ask me about is the diversity of this city and the changing demographics and something about the way that reflects changing American demographics in general. So the focus on terrorism and fear caught me completely by surprise.”

“We just never think about it in those terms and we don't think of our Muslim neighbors in those terms,” she added. “There may be tensions, but they're not tensions over something like terrorism.”

Majewski, who has served as mayor since 2006 and runs a vintage clothing shop in town, said CNN producers did not tell her beforehand about the terrorism-focused line of questioning.

“No, they didn't,” she said. “I just assumed it was about the election and the kind of change from a Polish-dominated city to a city where the demographic is changing.”

“I didn't ask and they didn't tell me that there was a kind of national security person who was going to be the co-interviewee,” she added. “If I had known that it might have clued me to what kind of angle they were going to take.” (The other person on the panel was Buck Sexton, a conservative radio host for Glenn Beck's The Blaze and CNN political commentator.)

Majewski speculated that the interview focus might have been prompted by a November 21 Washington Post article that she contends misstated that the city's population was now Muslim-majority, not just the city council, and raised unfounded terrorism fears.

“I think the misinterpretation came from the headline of The Washington Post article,” Majewski said. “The article itself seemed truncated and cut off at the knees and the headline was completely misleading.”

Asked if CNN or Costello had reached out to apologize or discuss the interview, Majewski said, “I imagine she might be getting some flack. I wouldn't expect any kind of apology. I just thought it was an odd line of questioning.”

CNN's interview of Majewski: