logo
Ex-Obama Adviser Takes Jab at Trump in Defense of Zohran Mamdani: 'Trump Said Things That Are Problematic Too'

Ex-Obama Adviser Takes Jab at Trump in Defense of Zohran Mamdani: 'Trump Said Things That Are Problematic Too'

A former advisor of former President Barack Obama defended the Democratic candidate in the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, from MAGA-supporting critics, pointing out that President Donald Trump has also made outrageous statements.
Former Obama administration staff member and Biden-Harris campaign senior staffer, Ashley Allison, appeared on CNN's "State of The Union" on Sunday. The panel, which included Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio and Republican Rep. Riley Moore, conversed with CNN host Jake Tapper, who brought up Mamdani's recent victory in New York. Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) CBP ONE application, wait outside the building of the National Institute of Migration (INM) as they queue to request a permit to travel to another point of entry to the U. Reuters
"There are some things that he says that I find problematic. But Donald Trump is our president, and a lot of people support him and he's said a lot of things that are problematic too. So we can find our way around things and hold people accountable while still supporting them to be good mayors," Allison said.
"Two things happened; there was an effective and aggressive 'no' to Cuomo's campaign, which opened for whoever was in that primary to find their lane and Mamdani was the one who found his lane and is now the Democratic nominee," she had said earlier.
Allison encouraged Democats to "support" the candidates who win their primaries instead of picking apart their campaigns.
"What is good in New York City probably isn't going to fly in Youngstown, Ohio, where I'm from, but we are the big tent party, or at least we used to be, so there's enough space for all of us. Don't let him become mayor and then just turn your back on him, help him govern," Allison continued.
Mamdani will go on to face off against Cuomo again in November, who reportedly plans to continue running as an independent, as well as current Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Jim Walden.
Originally published on Latin Times
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

How Elon Musk's third party threat could disrupt US politics – DW – 07/01/2025
How Elon Musk's third party threat could disrupt US politics – DW – 07/01/2025

DW

time2 hours ago

  • DW

How Elon Musk's third party threat could disrupt US politics – DW – 07/01/2025

Elon Musk wants to shake up the two-party system in the US after clashing with Donald Trump — but history hasn't been kind to third parties. It appears the world's wealthiest person has set his mind to a new startup: his own political party. As the ongoing public fracturing of the relationship between the US President Donald Trump and his top election financier continues to play out in public, Elon Musk has again vented his opposition to the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," a tax and spending bill, which he believes undoes the efficiency mantra he sought to instill in Washington. Musk has gone as far to warn Republican lawmakers who pass the bill that he'll run candidates against them in next year's primaries. And he also threatened the broader US two-party system with the promise he'll form a faction of his own. "If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day," he wrote on X. "Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE." A genuinely competitive third party would upend more than a century of Democrats-Republicans dominance at all levels of government. Yet few have come close, despite dozens of minor parties operating across the US for decades. The Libertarian Party, established in 1971, is the third biggest in America. Campaigning for free markets, small government and personal freedoms, it had its best presidential election performance in 2016 with candidate Gary Johnson, who won 3.27% of the nationwide vote. But that's a long way from the tens of millions of votes needed to win the White House, a governorship or even a state legislature seat. The Green Party is another long-running party that has run candidates in state and federal races. Like the Libertarians, it too holds no seats in government. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The very nature of the American political system is the "winner takes all" principle through the widespread use of a "first past the post" voting system. This delivers victory to candidates with the most votes — almost always a Republican or Democrat. There are other factors hampering success, according to Bernard Tamas, a political scientist at Valdosta State University, US, who has written extensively on the subject. Tamas said it's fundamental for a third party to tap into popular unrest — a large number of people who are dissatisfied with the current political options — and build a groundswell grassroots movement. "One of the biggest problems with the parties that have emerged is that they're not really tapping into that anger," Tamas said. Upstart parties instead "tend to be more wishy-washy and [are] not really focusing in on that strong urge for change." If tapping into grassroots is essential, so is money. Parties spend billions of dollars to get their candidates elected. According to donations watchdog OpenSecrets, nearly $16 billion (about €13.58 billion) was spent across the 2024 presidential and congressional races. Musk himself was the biggest donor in the 2023-24 election cycle. He gave more than $291 million to Republicans across all races. Massive campaign war chests help parties "get out the vote" — buying the advertising and campaigning materials that expose candidates to the public and earn their vote. It doesn't guarantee a win — the Democrats spent more than the Republicans in 2024 — but it certainly helps. "You need money for things like ballot access and a number of other things, but no third party would ever have enough money to compete against the Republicans and Democrats on their own terms," said Tamas. Could a genuine third party supplant the Democrats or Republicans? It's unlikely in Tamas's view. Instead of winning seats and building long-term success, Tamas said they instead "sting like a bee." "They emerge very quickly, they run a bunch of candidates all over the country and then they cause one or both major parties major pain," Tamas said. "They basically are pulling away votes." This is called the "spoiler effect", where protest candidates leech votes away from an often ideologically similar mainstream candidate. In some cases, they could pull away enough votes that a frontrunner loses the lead and falls to second place. It's the fear of a third party groundswell that causes the major parties to alter their policies to appease these voters. Once the change is achieved, like a bee that's stung its victim,"it dies." "The most successful third parties in America last about a decade. Once they become too much of a threat, the major parties start stealing their rhetoric, their ideology," said Tamas. Not all Americans are happy with their options. Donald Trump's net approval rating is in negative territory and YouGov's latest polls found almost 3 in 5 Americans view the Democratic Party unfavorably. In 2022, a Pew Research analysis found overall support for more parties in the political system. But it doesn't mean a new party would succeed. A study by two US political scientists in May 2024 found "disaffected partisans" — Republicans and Democrats unsatisfied with their own parties — were less likely to vote for a third, more centrist alternative. Tapping into popular anger and frustration with the status quo, Tamas said, is the fastest pathway to success. For a person like Musk, he might do well to look towards the "Fight Oligarchy" movement of left-wing opponents like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders currently touring America, or the original MAGA movement, if he wants to start a party. "These are very good examples to follow… the tapping into people's grievances is really it," Tamas said. "They force the [major] parties to respond by threatening their careers and their livelihood."

Elon Musk's dream of a third party could disrupt US politics – DW – 07/01/2025
Elon Musk's dream of a third party could disrupt US politics – DW – 07/01/2025

DW

time5 hours ago

  • DW

Elon Musk's dream of a third party could disrupt US politics – DW – 07/01/2025

Elon Musk wants to shake up the two-party system in the US after clashing with Donald Trump — but history hasn't been kind to third parties. It appears the world's wealthiest person has set his mind to a new startup: his own political party. As the ongoing public fracturing of the relationship between the US President Donald Trump and his top election financier continues to play out in public, Elon Musk has again vented his opposition to the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," a tax and spending bill, which he believes undoes the efficiency mantra he sought to instill in Washington. Musk has gone as far to warn Republican lawmakers who pass the bill that he'll run candidates against them in next year's primaries. And he also threatened the broader US two-party system with the promise he'll form a faction of his own. "If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day," he wrote on X. "Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE." A genuinely competitive third party would upend more than a century of Democrats-Republicans dominance at all levels of government. Yet few have come close, despite dozens of minor parties operating across the US for decades. The Libertarian Party, established in 1971, is the third biggest in America. Campaigning for free markets, small government and personal freedoms, it had its best presidential election performance in 2016 with candidate Gary Johnson, who won 3.27% of the nationwide vote. But that's a long way from the tens of millions of votes needed to win the White House, a governorship or even a state legislature seat. The Green Party is another long-running party that has run candidates in state and federal races. Like the Libertarians, it too holds no seats in government. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The very nature of the American political system is the "winner takes all" principle through the widespread use of a "first past the post" voting system. This delivers victory to candidates with the most votes — almost always a Republican or Democrat. There are other factors hampering success, according to Bernard Tamas, a political scientist at Valdosta State University, US, who has written extensively on the subject. Tamas said it's fundamental for a third party to tap into popular unrest — a large number of people who are dissatisfied with the current political options — and build a groundswell grassroots movement. "One of the biggest problems with the parties that have emerged is that they're not really tapping into that anger," Tamas said. Upstart parties instead "tend to be more wishy-washy and [are] not really focusing in on that strong urge for change." If tapping into grassroots is essential, so is money. Parties spend billions of dollars to get their candidates elected. According to donations watchdog OpenSecrets, nearly $16 billion (about €13.58 billion) was spent across the 2024 presidential and congressional races. Musk himself was the biggest donor in the 2023-24 election cycle. He gave more than $291 million to Republicans across all races. Massive campaign war chests help parties "get out the vote" — buying the advertising and campaigning materials that expose candidates to the public and earn their vote. It doesn't guarantee a win — the Democrats spent more than the Republicans in 2024 — but it certainly helps. "You need money for things like ballot access and a number of other things, but no third party would ever have enough money to compete against the Republicans and Democrats on their own terms," said Tamas. Could a genuine third party supplant the Democrats or Republicans? It's unlikely in Tamas's view. Instead of winning seats and building long-term success, Tamas said they instead "sting like a bee." "They emerge very quickly, they run a bunch of candidates all over the country and then they cause one or both major parties major pain," Tamas said. "They basically are pulling away votes." This is called the "spoiler effect", where protest candidates leech votes away from an often ideologically similar mainstream candidate. In some cases, they could pull away enough votes that a frontrunner loses the lead and falls to second place. It's the fear of a third party groundswell that causes the major parties to alter their policies to appease these voters. Once the change is achieved, like a bee that's stung its victim,"it dies." "The most successful third parties in America last about a decade. Once they become too much of a threat, the major parties start stealing their rhetoric, their ideology," said Tamas. Not all Americans are happy with their options. Donald Trump's net approval rating is in negative territory and YouGov's latest polls found almost 3 in 5 Americans view the Democratic Party unfavorably. In 2022, a Pew Research analysis found overall support for more parties in the political system. But it doesn't mean a new party would succeed. A study by two US political scientists in May 2024 found "disaffected partisans" — Republicans and Democrats unsatisfied with their own parties — were less likely to vote for a third, more centrist alternative. Tapping into popular anger and frustration with the status quo, Tamas said, is the fastest pathway to success. For a person like Musk, he might do well to look towards the "Fight Oligarchy" movement of left-wing opponents like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders currently touring America, or the original MAGA movement, if he wants to start a party. "These are very good examples to follow… the tapping into people's grievances is really it," Tamas said. "They force the [major] parties to respond by threatening their careers and their livelihood."

US Halting Some Shipments Of Military Aid To Ukraine
US Halting Some Shipments Of Military Aid To Ukraine

Int'l Business Times

time11 hours ago

  • Int'l Business Times

US Halting Some Shipments Of Military Aid To Ukraine

The White House said Tuesday it is halting some key weapons shipments to Ukraine that were promised under the Biden administration for Kyiv's battle against the Russian invasion. Stopping the delivery of munitions and other military aid including air defense systems likely would be a blow to Ukraine as it contends with some of Russia's largest missile and drone attacks of the three-year-old war. "This decision was made to put America's interests first following a DOD (Department of Defense) review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe," White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told AFP in an email. The curtailment of military aid signals a possible shift in the priorities of US President Donald Trump, who has pressed for Russia and Ukraine to speed up stalled peace talks. The Republican has moved on to playing a greater role in orchestrating a possible ceasefire in Gaza and toning down Iran-Israel tensions after a deadly 12-day conflict between the arch foes. The Pentagon review determined that stocks had become too low on some previously pledged munitions, and that some pending shipments now would not be sent, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, according to Politico which first reported the halt of military aid. "The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned -- just ask Iran," Kelly said, making a reference to the recent US bombings and missile strikes against the Islamic republic's nuclear facilities. Politico and other US media reported that missiles for Patriot air defense systems, precision artillery and Hellfire missiles are among the items being held back. Last week at a NATO summit in the Netherlands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump and appeared to get a vague response from the US leader on Patriot air defense systems. "We're going to see if we can make some available," Trump said of the missiles that Kyiv desperately seeks to shoot down Russian attacks. "They're very hard to get," Trump added. Asked by AFP for comment on the halt of shipments and why it was occurring, the Pentagon did not respond directly. But its chief spokesman Sean Parnell said "America's military has never been more ready and more capable thanks to President Trump and Secretary (Pete) Hegseth's leadership."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store