Self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani dodges NBC host’s questions THREE times as Jewish groups blast his ‘alarming’ stance – while he pushes plans to hike taxes on ‘whiter neighborhoods’ and defund police
New York City’s presumptive Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani repeatedly refused to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’ in a painful on-air interview that left NBC host Kristen Welker visibly exasperated.
The 33-year-old self-described socialist, who stunned the political establishment by defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in last week’s primary, dodged the question three times when grilled on Meet the Press over his views on the inflammatory phrase.
Globalize the intifada’ is widely considered by Jewish groups to be a call for violence against Israeli and Jewish people around the world, and has been a common chant at anti-Israel protests across America – including at Mamdani’s own rallies.
In the excruciating exchange, Welker gave the mayoral hopeful multiple opportunities to distance himself from the controversial slogan, finally asking in frustration: “Why not just condemn it?”
Three strikes, no answer
The car-crash interview unfolded as Welker pressed Mamdani on his previous refusal to condemn the phrase during a podcast appearance earlier this month.
“Do you condemn that phrase, ‘globalize the intifada,’ which a lot of people hear as a call to violence against Jews?” Welker asked directly.
Mamdani’s response: “That’s not language that I use.”
Unsatisfied with the dodge, Welker tried again: “But do you actually condemn it? I think that’s the question and the outstanding issue that a number of people, both of the Jewish faith and beyond, have.”
Instead of answering, Mamdani pivoted to discussing his conversations with Jewish New Yorkers about antisemitism and his promise to increase anti-hate crime funding by 800%.
I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech,” he claimed – though Welker had never asked him to ban the phrase, only to condemn it.
Growing visibly frustrated, the NBC host made one final attempt: “But very quickly for the people who care about the language and who feel really concerned by that phrase, why not just condemn it?”
‘Takes me to a place similar to Trump’
In perhaps his most bizarre deflection, Mamdani suggested that condemning antisemitic slogans would make him like President Trump.
“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,” he said.
The socialist then referenced Trump’s detention of pro-Palestinian protester Mahmoud Khalil as justification for not condemning calls to “globalize the intifada.
“Ultimately, it’s not language that I use. It’s language I understand there are concerns about,” he concluded weakly.
Holocaust Museum fury
The interview disaster was compounded by Mamdani’s shocking claim that the word ‘intifada’ has been “used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic.”
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum issued a blistering rebuke in an X post: “Exploiting the Museum and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to sanitize ‘globalize the intifada’ is outrageous and especially offensive to survivors. Since 1987 Jews have been attacked and murdered under its banner. All leaders must condemn its use and the abuse of history.”
Top Democrats pile on
The mayoral hopeful’s refusal to condemn the phrase has drawn fierce criticism from leading Democrats.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand slammed Mamdani in a radio interview, saying the phrase calls for the “slaughter of the Jews” and that she finds him “alarming.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told ABC’s This Week that “globalize the intifada” is “not acceptable,” adding that Mamdani needs to “clarify his position.
Rep. Dan Goldman, who represents parts of New York City, was even more direct: “If Mr. Mamdani is unwilling to heed the request of major Jewish organizations to condemn this unquestionably antisemitic phrase, then he is unfit to lead a city with 1.3 million Jews — the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.”
Socialist shock victory
Mamdani’s stunning primary victory last Tuesday saw him capture 44% of first-round votes, crushing former Governor Andrew Cuomo who managed just 36%.
The young assemblyman from Queens ran on a far-left platform that has divided Democrats and horrified moderates:
- Raising taxes on the top 1% (which mayors don’t have authority to do)
- Making city buses and childcare free
- Creating government-run grocery stores
- Spending $65 million on transgender care, including for minors
- Freezing rent on stabilized apartments
- Defunding the police department
- Arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits NYC
‘Trump’s worst nightmare’
Mamdani has branded himself as “Trump’s worst nightmare,” though critics say his inexperience makes him unfit to lead America’s largest city.
His only public service comes as a state assemblyman, where he co-sponsored bills requiring prisons to house inmates based on self-declared gender and preventing law enforcement from asking about immigration status.
The socialist would become NYC’s youngest mayor in over a century and its first Muslim and Indian-American mayor if he wins the general election in November.
November showdown looms
Despite being the heavy favorite in the overwhelmingly Democratic city, Mamdani faces a potential five-way race in November.
Current Mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent after corruption charges were dropped, while Cuomo hasn’t ruled out using his independent ballot line. Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden round out the field.
As one political observer noted: “His refusal to condemn ‘globalize the intifada’ gives his opponents an opening the size of a Mack truck.
The question now is whether New York’s 1.3 million Jewish residents – and other voters concerned about antisemitism – will remember Mamdani’s painful dodges when they head to the polls in November.
