The news that Zohran Mamdani emerged victorious in the recent Democratic Party primary for the New York City mayoral race has sent shockwaves through the political world, with his rise to prominence serving as case study in the internal struggles currently plaguing the left.
Weighing in on Mamdani’s candidacy this week was Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who blasted the self-avowed socialist seeking the Big Apple’s top job, declaring him “not even a Democrat” and noting that he does not agree with “virtually any” of the policies he has espoused, as the New York Post reports.
Never one to feel bound by party-line rhetoric, Fetterman let loose on Mamdani in remarks made to Fox News.
He declared, “Everything that I’ve read on him, I don’t really agree with virtually any of it, politically.”
The Pennsylvania lawmaker did not stop there, adding, “That’s just where I’m at as a Democrat. He’s not even a Democrat, honestly.”
Perhaps Fetterman was referring to Mamdani’s many policy initiatives that smack more of socialism than of anything for which traditional Democrats would advocate, with the upstart candidate having explicitly suggested that government should “seize the means of production.”
Government-run grocery stores, a freeze on rent-stabilized apartments, and fare-free buses are just a few of Mamdani’s platform issues that have given pause even to liberals in New York who are loath to support anyone but the winner of the Democratic Party primary.
As evidence of the rift on the left, particularly regarding Mamdani’s candidacy, one need only look to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ recent remarks on the subject.
Jeffries was asked for his take on Mamdani’s links to anti-Israel organizations and his unwillingness to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which has long been likened to violent antisemitism.
Pressed by ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Jeffries all but admitted that the candidate’s positions could well be problematic, saying, “Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrase. He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
Having yet to endorse his party’s candidate in the mayoral race, Jeffries added, “With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development.”
In what might be interpreted as an attempt to smooth over the obvious divisions inside the party, Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin recently downplayed Mamdani’s refusal to denounce the incendiary language, instead suggesting there is room for everyone in the “big tent.”
“You win by bringing people into your coalition. We have conservative-Democrats, we have centrist-Democrats, we have labor-progressives like me, and we have this new brand of Democrat which is the leftist,” he continued.
But to most observers, it is far from clear that embracing Marxist ideologies such as those espoused by Mamdani could ever be a winning strategy in New York City, let alone the country as a whole.
