Democrat strategist James Carville recently remarked that Zohran Mamdani has consistently supported Republican narratives during his campaign for mayor of New York City, a trend that persists now that he is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
The socialist New York Assemblyman has stirred unease among establishment Democrats in the state, largely due to his controversial views on Israel, with influential New York Democrats like Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hesitant to endorse him, as Republicans highlight Mamdani as a symbol of the Democratic Party.
Regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, describing Mamdani as pro-Hamas is akin to noting that water is wet. His statements following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians, along with his support for groups that occasionally rally around “globalize the intifada!” messages in New York City, clearly illustrate his stance.
Now that Mamdani has seemingly conquered the primary hurdle, however, he’s got to figure out a way to appeal to all voters, including the sizeable number of Jewish and non-Jewish pro-Israel voters in New York City. But if he thinks his answers to the “globalize the intifada” questions he got three different times on “Meet the Press” Sunday are going to cut it, he’s sadly mistaken.
Here’s how the exchange between Mamdani and moderator Kristen Welker went down. Note that it’s not just what he said that was eye-opening but what he didn’t, for reasons I’ll explain in a minute:
KRISTEN WELKER: I want to ask you about an issue that has divided some New Yorkers in recent weeks. You were recently asked about the term “globalize the intifada,” if it makes you uncomfortable. In that moment you did not condemn the phrase. Now, just so folks understand, it’s a phrase that many people hear as a call to violence against Jews. There’s been a lot of attention on this issue, so I want to give you an opportunity to respond here and now. Do you condemn that phrase “globalize the intifada?”
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: That’s not language that I use. The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead this city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights. And ultimately, that’s what is the foundation of so much of my politics, the belief that freedom and justice and safety are things that, to have meaning, have to be applied to all people, and that includes Israelis and Palestinians as well.
Non-answer number two:
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I’ve heard from many Jewish New Yorkers who have shared their concerns with me, especially in light of the horrific attacks that we saw in Washington, D.C. and in Boulder, Colorado about this moment of antisemitism in our country and in our city. And I’ve heard those fears and I’ve had those conversations. And ultimately, they are part and parcel of why, in my campaign, I’ve put forward a commitment to increase funding for anti-hate crime programming by 800%. I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech in the manner, especially of that of Donald Trump, who has put one New Yorker in jail, who’s just returned to his family, Mahmoud Khalil, for that very supposed crime of speech. Ultimately, what I think I need to show is the ability to not only talk about something but to tackle it and to make clear that there’s no room for antisemitism in this city. And we have to root out that bigotry, and ultimately we do that through the actions. And that is the mayor I will be, one that protects Jewish New Yorkers and lives up to that commitment through the work that I do.
Non-answer number three:
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: My concern is to start to walk down the line of language and making clear what language I believe is permissible or impermissible takes me into a place similar to that of the president, who is looking to do those very kinds of things, putting people in jail for writing an oped. Putting them in jail for protesting. Ultimately, it’s not language that I use. It’s language I understand there are concerns about. And what I will do is showcase my vision for this city through my words and my actions.
Watch:
Here’s Zohran Mamdani being given three opportunities to condemn the antisemitic battle cry “Globalize the Intifada” and refusing to do so each time.
He won’t condemn it because he’s led marches galvanized by it.
This is who he is.pic.twitter.com/PztZpmHdKe
— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) June 29, 2025
Note the shift there. Before primary day, he was saying “intifada” meant the “struggle” for “Palestinian rights,” not the eradication of Jews, the latter of which has been the widely accepted translation for “intifada” for decades.
The reason he’s shifted to “this is language I wouldn’t use”, of course, is because, for all intents and purposes, the primary is over, and he wants to convince skeptics that he’s not the radical he actually is. Of course, he wouldn’t say it now – it would give the game away.
But where he really gives the opening to his opponents is by his continued failure to outright condemn the statement, going so far as to try and turn it into a debate about supposed “speech policing” and invoking President Trump into his arguments, wrongly (but slickly) conflating condemnation of hate speech against Jewish people to deporting pro-terror instigators here in the U.S.
Very telling.
And yet, Mamdani has had no qualms about condemning what he views as anti-LGBTQ hate speech and supposed anti-Palestinian hate speech, and has spoken out often against what he perceives as “bigotry” towards transgender people and people who share his views regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
So apparently, where he draws the line at so-called “speech policing” is not when people chant for death to the Jews, but when Jewish people and Israel supporters advocate for fighting back against antisemitism and attempts to wipe them off the map.
If the remaining leftist candidates in this race (Cuomo and Adams) don’t hammer Mamdani on this between now and Election Day, then they deserve to lose. It’s just as simple as that.
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