Spin Cycle: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Mamdani?

When self-described Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral Democratic primary, critics on both sides of the aisle began to wake up to just how problematic his meteoric rise could be.

For those who don’t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week’s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.

The topic of conversation on many of the Sunday morning political shows — in addition to some conversation about Iran and the ongoing battle surrounding President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” — revolved around Mamdani, his history and proposed policies, and how mainstream Democrats who wanted to keep their House and Senate seats could go about responding to his win.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), for example, appeared to be uncomfortable when pressed on whether or not he intended to endorse Mamdani in the upcoming general election. It’s certainly possible that Jeffries hesitated because there may be three Democrats running — current Mayor Eric Adams, who won as a Democrat, has announced an independent bid for reelection; and disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), who lost to Mamdani in the primary, left the door wide open for a third party run. It’s also possible that Jeffries, who represents a district that is 11% Jewish, has concerns about Mamdani’s support for BDS — “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” — against Israel or his claim that, as mayor, he would have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he came to New York City.

On ABC News’ “This Week,” host Jonathan Karl asked Jeffries to weigh in on Mamdani.

“I congratulated him on the campaign that he ran, a campaign that clearly was relentlessly focused on the high cost of living in New York City and the economy. He outworked, he out-communicated, and he out-organized the opposition, and that’s clearly why he was successful,” Jeffries said — but added that he didn’t know the Democratic Socialist well enough to make an endorsement.

“Well, our districts don’t overlap. I have never had a substantive conversation with him. And so that’s the next step in terms of this process to discuss his vision for moving the city forward and addressing the issues that are important to the communities that I represent,” he said, and called on Mamdani directly to “clarify” his position on Israel.

“Globalizing the Intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries concluded. “He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward. 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.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hesitated when pressed by @JonKarl about endorsing Democratic New York City mayor contender Zohran Mamdani.

“I have never had a substantive conversation with him. That’s the next step in terms of this process.” https://t.co/XdRBpVxN5K pic.twitter.com/hM0H4CywiC

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 29, 2025

Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) was far more conciliatory toward Mamdani, arguing that Democrats should learn from the way he made his case on economic inequality — primarily by offering his voters things like rent freezes and “free” public transportation.

“If you’re a candidate who is laser-focused on bringing down costs, you’re hitting the right notes,” he said.

. @RepDeluzio on lessons Democrats should learn from Mamdani’s stunning win in New York: “If you’re a candidate who is laser-focused on bringing down costs, you’re hitting the right notes.”@RepRileyMoore @ashleyrallison and @Alyssafarah join @jaketapper to discuss. pic.twitter.com/20C2AJH1Ag

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) June 29, 2025

Mamdani himself joined host Kristen Welker on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” where he doubled down on policy proposals that would shift the tax burden to “whiter” neighborhoods. When Welker pressed him on that, Mamdani claimed that he was simply “describing” the demographics as they were, not suggesting that white people should be taxed more.

“It’s not driven by race,” he claimed. “I’m just naming things as they are.”

Mamdani is unapologetic about language in his plan that would tax “whiter” neighborhoods at higher rates:

“It’s not driven by race….I’m just naming things as they are.” pic.twitter.com/Dnrtij9BxH

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) June 29, 2025

Given the fact that his tax plan also calls for higher taxes on top earners, Welker asked Mamdani whether he believed billionaires had a “right to exist.” Mamdani, laughing, said that he did not believe billionaires should exist “because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality.”

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: “I don’t think that we should have billionaires.” pic.twitter.com/optpzkp28w

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 29, 2025

Welker also pressed Mamdani on his apparent stance with regard to Israel, asking several times whether he’d condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which she correctly identified as a call to violence against Jews — and while Mamdani insisted that those were not his chosen words, he did not outright condemn the phrase.

“Do you condemn that phrase, ‘Globalize the Intifada?'” Welker asked, and asked again a short time later when it was clear he was not answering: “But do you actually condemn it … which a lot of people hear as a call to violence against Jews?”

“For the people who … feel really concerned by that phrase, why not just condemn it?”

Mamdani said a lot of words in his response to Welker’s query, but none of them were, “Yes, of course, I condemn it.”

.@kwelkernbc to Mamdani:

Do you condemn that phrase, Globalize the Intifada?

But do you actually condemn it..which a lot of people hear as a call to violence against Jews?

For the people who .. feel really concerned by that phrase, why not just condemn it?

Mamdani’s reply ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eZuhMSEO0c

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) June 29, 2025

So what’s to be done? Democratic strategist James Carville warned that Mamdani’s primary win signaled trouble for New York City, but still seemed hopeful that the “Communist lunatic” — that’s according to President Trump” — could still be stopped on his way to Gracie Mansion.

“There’s a lot of baseball left here. We’ve got a lot of baseball left to play,” he said.