Latest news with #Zohran Mamdani
Fox News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Fox News
New Yorkers skeptical after Zohran Mamdani distances himself from phrase ‘globalize the intifada'
New Yorkers are expressing skepticism after Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appeared to try to distance himself from the phrase "globalize the intifada," after spending months refusing to condemn the phrase many interpret as a call for violence against Jewish people. The New York Times reported that Mamdani, who is Muslim and a self-professed socialist who has been highly critical of the state of Israel, told city business leaders that he would not use the phrase and that he would "discourage" others from doing so. The Times reported that Mamdani told some 150 business executives present at the meeting, which took place in the Rockefeller Center, that while many use the phrase to express solidarity with Palestinians, others see it as a call to antisemitic violence. This comes after Mamdani refused to condemn intifada language throughout his campaign for the Democratic mayoral nomination. During an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" in June, Mamdani said, "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 op-ed, putting them in jail for protesting." He said that "ultimately, it is not language that I use. It is language, I understand there are concerns about, and what I will do is showcase my vision for the city through my words and my actions." Now, weeks after winning the Democratic nomination and facing general election voters, he appears to finally be backing away from the intifada language. Joe Borelli, a former Republican New York City Council member, responded to the shift, telling Fox News Digital it is "hard to imagine any change of heart being genuine when it occurs right after you've won a primary and have to pivot for the general, which happens to include a heck of a lot of Jews." Rory Lancman, a Democrat and former New York City councilmember and state assemblyman, told Fox News Digital that "a putative mayor of New York City needs to be able to repudiate calls for 'intifada' without ambiguity or qualification as morally repugnant and unacceptable." "There is no 'threading the needle' or middle ground on this issue, or, for that matter, on the issue of whether Israel should be extinguished as a Jewish state," Lancman went on. "These are basic, straightforward 'good vs. evil' questions that Mr. Mamdani struggles with because, frankly, he's on the wrong side of that equation," said Lancman. Meanwhile, Christopher Hahn, a Democratic strategist and former aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital that "while Mandani has made statements that show he is not an anti-Semite some of his past statements can be construed that way." Hahn said that if Mamdani "hopes to be mayor he needs to make it very clear, early and often, he is not anti-Semitic." "If he doesn't his opponents will try to paint him as one," said Hahn. Top Democratic leaders have also been demanding that Mamdani condemn calls to globalize the intifada. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said during an interview with WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer in late June that the phrase is received by the public as a call to "slaughter the Jews," and that Mamdani needed to understand how the word is received by the Jewish community. "It doesn't matter what meaning you have in your brain. It is not how the word is received. When you use a word like intifada — to many Jewish Americans and Jewish New Yorkers, that means you are permissive of violence against Jews," said Gillibrand. House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has also said the mayoral candidate would have to clarify this position on the phrase. "Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrase," Jeffries said. "He's going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward." He 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." Mamdani is running to unseat current New York City Mayor Eric Adams who is running for re-election as an independent. He is also facing off against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom he defeated in the Democratic Primary and who is also running as an independent. Activist Curtis Sliwa is also running for mayor as a Republican.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Andrew Cuomo, conceding his failed primary campaign was flawed, takes to NYC streets
Andrew Cuomo is shifting gears and taking personal responsibility for running what he admits was a lackluster campaign in the Democratic mayoral primary, acknowledging that any strategic mistakes ultimately fall on him. 'It was my campaign, I take the responsibility — period,' Cuomo told the Daily News in a series of interviews from the campaign trail Wednesday. 'The buck stops with me, and we did not effectively communicate.' Now running as an independent in November's general election against Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, Cuomo said he will be taking a very different tact. 'Better use with social media, reaching out to more young people and touching more people,' Cuomo said of his new focus while riding the Q train from 96th St. to 72nd St. in between stops to talk to voters on the Upper East Side, where he largely got a positive reception. 'He's for New York, and all that other stuff that happened with him doesn't matter,' Annie Albarian, 65, a registered Republican and Upper East Side resident who plans to vote for Cuomo in November, said, a reference to his 2021 resignation as governor. Cuomo, who resigned amid sexual and professional misconduct accusations he denies, said he will during the general election campaign be doing more retail politics, like riding the trains, walking the streets and interacting directly with voters. Mamdani defeated Cuomo in the primary by a 12% margin after running an energetic campaign grounded in that type of direct outreach. By contrast, Cuomo ran a 'Rose Garden' campaign of sorts during the primary, largely staying out of the public spotlight and relying on a supportive super PAC to spend heavily on ads for him, as nearly all polls projected he'd easily defeat Mamdani and his other opponents. 'All the political geniuses said we had a big lead and the campaign played it safe, I played it safe, uncharacteristically, and that was a mistake,' he said on the Q train. As part of Cuomo's general election bid revamp, a source familiar with the matter said he also plans to hire a new campaign manager, a new social media team and a new consulting firm to spearhead strategy for him. During the primary, Cuomo relied heavily on Mercury, a PR firm headed by his longtime ally Charlie King. Though his style may change, Cuomo signaled Wednesday he will continue to pitch himself as a battle-tested manager who has the type of deep experience New York needs at a time of myriad challenges, like a housing crisis and federal funding cuts from President Trump. He will also continue to paint Mamdani, a 33-year-old Queens Assembly member, as too inexperienced and his policy platform, which includes a promise to freeze rent for stabilized tenants, as too radical and unrealistic. 'He's not a Democrat,' Cuomo, a lifelong Democrat, said when asked how he justifies challenging the Democratic nominee in November's contest. 'A socialist won in the Democratic primary.' Cuomo's own policy platform remains a bit diffuse, with several of his proposals, including for addressing the local housing crisis, light on details. Cuomo's Wednesday campaign jaunt included advantageous locations. In riding the Q, he was on a section of the Second Ave. subway he as governor helped build — and while underground he touted it repeatedly as a major accomplishment, at one point stopping by a plaque with his name on it. Later in the day, he invited The News to join him at an apartment complex in East New York that he helped build in the late 1980s while running HELP, a low-income housing development firm. 'He's loving, he's kind, he's generous, he's the best landlord we had ever,' Leotha McLean Chase, who has lived in the housing complex since it opened in 1992, said outside the building before affirming she's voting for Cuomo in November. No matter his strategy, Cuomo faces an uphill battle. As the Democratic nominee, Mamdani is polling as the favorite to win in November, given the city's overwhelmingly Democratic electorate. During the primary, Mamdani generated a groundswell of support from young voters by centering his campaign on a slate of policy proposals focused on affordability, and he has racked up key institutional support since then, including from powerful unions that used to back Cuomo. Cuomo's path to election is further complicated by Mayor Adams, who's also running as an independent in November and appeals to a similar constituency of moderates and conservatives, potentially cutting into the ex-gov's base of support. In formally entering the November race earlier this week, Cuomo proposed that all independent and Republican candidates in the running should commit to dropping out in September and coalesce behind the person who's polling best in a head-to-head matchup with Mamdani to maximize their chances of beating him. So far, Cuomo's polling as Mamdani's biggest threat. But Adams and Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa have already affirmed they will not entertain such a polling proposal, with the incumbent saying Cuomo's the one who should drop out. In speaking to The News on Wednesday, Cuomo said he's nonetheless hopeful Adams — who's hobbled by continued fallout from his corruption indictment and relationship with Trump — will eventually come around to the idea that he should drop out if he's not polling as the most credible candidate to beat Mamdani. 'Right now, I'm sure he believes he will be the stronger candidate, and, great, run your campaign, and if he's the stronger candidate, I will defer,' Cuomo said. 'But I'm running my campaign, and if I'm the stronger candidate, he should defer.' Frank Carone, Adams' campaign chairman, said that isn't going to happen. 'As I have said repeatedly there is no chance of that — none, zero, zilch. Any objective person can see that Mayor Adams and his administration have one of the best records in history in delivering for working class New Yorkers,' Carone said, pointing to an increase in small businesses, drops in some crime categories and an uptick in housing construction. 'Any suggestion to the contrary is delusion and psychotic arrogance.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Mamdani says he won't use ‘globalize the intifada' amid backlash
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York mayor, has told business leaders in the city he will not use the phrase 'globalize the intifada' and discourage others from doing so, according to reports. Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won the Democratic nomination last month, has been under pressure to clarify his position on the phrase that many regard as a call to violence against Jews, and one that he had previously declined to condemn. The 33-year-old made the commitment during a closed-door meeting with business executives hosted on Tuesday by the Partnership for New York City, an influential business body that represents banks, law firms and corporations, per the New York Times. Many executives have expressed alarm at Mamdani's positions, which they consider to be anti-business and risk driving corporations and the tax base of wealthy New Yorkers from the city. But his cautious defense of the phrase has brought accusations that he is fostering antisemitism. He previously told the US news show Meet the Press that the term was 'not language that I use' but that 'I don't believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech.' Mamdani explained at the Tuesday meeting that many use 'globalize the intifada' as an expression of support for Palestinians. He said that, for him, the phrase means protest against the Israeli occupation of Gaza, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mamdani also said he is willing to discourage the specific language, but not the idea behind it. During his campaign for mayor, he had explained that the word 'intifada' had been used in translations by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum to describe a Jewish uprising against the Nazis in Warsaw in 1943. He told reporters at the time: 'It pains me to be called an antisemite.' Many New York business leaders, including Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan; Steve Schwartzman of Blackstone; Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America; Larry Fink of BlackRock; and David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, did not attend the meeting. '[Jamie Dimon] had other commitments and was unable to attend,' a JPMorgan spokesperson told the New York Post. Just days ago, Dimon lambasted Mamdani at an event in Ireland, calling the mayoral hopeful 'more of a Marxist than a socialist'. 'And now you see these Democrats falling all over themselves saying, 'Well, he's pointing out some real problems, affordable housing and grocery prices,'' Dimon continued, before claiming Mamdani pushed 'the same ideological mush that means nothing in the real world'. Mamdani reportedly told business leaders at the meeting that his goal is not to drive business from the city. Kathy Wylde, head of the business group, described the attitude to Mamdani among her members as 'guarded'. 'But most recognized that he's a smart young man and a good communicator and the proof will be in the pudding,' Wylde told the Times. New York Democrats, Hakeem Jeffries, minority leader in the House, and senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, have not yet endorsed Mamdani for mayor. 'What 'globalize the intifada' means is really wrong and should be condemned,' Schumer told the Times. The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, sought to calm frayed nerves, telling MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday that she felt she had become New York's 'therapist in chief'. 'I've spoken to hundreds of business leaders saying, 'Listen, nothing is going to happen to this city without me being aware of it and involved in it'. So don't talk about packing up and leaving and all these other overreactions,' Hochul told the show. 'I've become the therapist in chief, it seems. So I'm saying to everybody, 'We're going be OK.' Maybe it's the mom in me. I know how to calm down situations and we'll get through this.' Mamdani faces three independent mayoral candidates in November's election, incumbent mayor Eric Adams, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and attorney Jim Walden, as well as the Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israeli prime minister answers whether he is worried about being jailed in NYC by Zohran Mamdani
After Zohran Mamdani, New York City's leading mayoral candidate, pledged to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the city, Netanyahu responded to questions about whether he's worried. In December, Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist and is the Democratic Party's nominee for New York City mayor, said, "as mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu." "This is a city that our values are in line with international law. It's time that our actions are also," Mamdani said, referring to the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant against Netanyahu as well as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday evening to discuss a range of topics, including Iran and Israel's ongoing war with Hamas. Netanyahu Surprises Trump With Formal Nobel Peace Prize Nomination During Historic White House Meeting When asked whether he was worried about the possibility of facing arrest in America's largest city, Netanyahu said, "I'm not concerned about that." Read On The Fox News App The prime minister added, "I'm going to come there with the President Trump and we'll see." He went on to say that Mamdani's threat is "silly in many ways, because it's just not serious." Trump also chimed in, saying, "We don't know who the mayor is going to be yet, but this is a communist. He's not a socialist. He's a communist, and he's said some really bad things about Jewish people." Top Iranian Cleric Calls For Trump's Execution "He might make it," Trump said. "But, you know, it all comes through the White House. He needs the money through the White House. He needs a lot. "He's going to behave. He'll behave. He better behave. Otherwise, he's going to have big problems." Hearkening back to an earlier question asked by reporters, Netanyahu said, "what is serious" is whether there can be a two-state solution in Gaza that does not pose an existential threat to the Israeli people. "Look, there's enough craziness in the world, but I guess it never ends," he said. "After October 7th, people said the Palestinians had a state, Hamas state in Gaza, and look what they did with it. They didn't build it up. They built down two bunkers into terror tunnels, after which they massacred our people, raped our women, beheaded our men, invaded our cities and our towns and our kibbutzim and did horrendous, horrendous massacres, the kind of which we didn't see since World War two and the Nazis, the Holocaust." Israel Hammers Houthis With Airstrikes, Rebels Respond Amid Red Sea Flare-up "So people aren't likely to say, let's just give them another state. It'll be a platform to destroy Israel," he added. "We'll work up a peace with our Palestinian neighbors, those who don't want to destroy us, and we'll work out a peace in which our security, the sovereign power of security, always remains in our hands." "Now, people will say it's not a complete state. It's not a state, it's not that, we don't care," he said. "You know, we vowed, 'never again.' Never again is now, it's not going to happen again."Original article source: Israeli prime minister answers whether he is worried about being jailed in NYC by Zohran Mamdani
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mamdani Talks ‘Intifada', Taxes in Grilling by Business Leaders
(Bloomberg) -- New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani told business leaders that he would begin to discourage the use of the phrase 'globalize the intifada' after being pressed on his views by Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using 'Wellness Checks' on Children as a Prelude to Arrests LA Homelessness Drops for Second Year Manhattan, Chicago Murder Rates Drop in 2025, Officials Say Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist who shocked New York City's business and political establishment by beating Andrew Cuomo in last month's Democratic mayoral primary, met Tuesday with about 100 business leaders from the Partnership for New York City. The group is a 350-member coalition of the city's largest banks and media companies as well as investment, real estate and law firms. The meeting, which came at Mamdani's request, is one of several scheduled this week between the Democratic nominee and the business community, which is grappling with the potential impact of Mamdani's leadership on the city. Mamdani campaigned on promises to freeze the rent on affordable housing, and fund free buses and government-run grocery stores with new taxes on corporations and high-earners. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon last week criticized Mamdani and the Democratic reaction to his election, describing him as 'more of a Marxist than a socialist.' Bourla, whose grandparents perished at Auschwitz, moderated the event. Mamdani, an activist for Palestinian causes, has been criticized for refusing to denounce calls by anti-Israel protesters to 'globalize the intifada,' a reference to the armed Palestinian uprisings against Israel. Bourla in 2020 struck an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use Israel as a test case for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine. In Tuesday's meeting, Mamdani appeared to relent on the matter, the people said, saying he would discourage such language going forward. But on other subjects the Queens assemblyman held firm, reiterating his goals and brushing off concerns about higher taxes by saying wealthy New Yorkers would stay put regardless, the people said. Mamdani also said he'd consider, but wouldn't commit, to keeping Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the people said. Her father, Loews Corp. Chairman James Tisch, was at the meeting. Other attendees included Uber Technologies Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Hearst Corp. CEO Steve Swartz, Related Cos CEO Jeff Blau, and Centerview Partners' co-founder Blair Effron, the people said. 'Zohran appreciated the meeting today, and felt it was a constructive, honest discussion,' Jeffrey Lerner, a spokesman for Mamdani's campaign, said in a statement. 'We look forward to the opportunity to build on this conversation, even in navigating disagreement on fiscal policy. Zohran continues to believe that working in partnership is the best way to deliver an affordable city for all New Yorkers.' Business leaders who attended the Tuesday event thought Mamdani was 'the most impressive candidate they have seen in generations,' Kathy Wylde, CEO of the coalition, said in an interview on CNBC Wednesday. But Wylde said Mamdani is 'clearly, totally inexperienced' and that she doesn't think the candidate changed the minds of city business leaders. Mamdani also told attendees he would examine the New York City Department of Education for waste and duplication, and that he would look to use the World Cup as an opportunity to build up city infrastructure. Mamdani has been making efforts to consolidate traditional institutions behind his candidacy ahead of November's mayoral race, which could prove unusually competitive in a heavily blue city where the Democratic nominee has been all but assured of victory in recent elections. He will face off against four other candidates: incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, former governor Cuomo, and attorney Jim Walden — all of whom are running as independents — as well as Republican Curtis Sliwa. President Donald Trump, who has described Mamdani as a 'communist lunatic,' said this week that Cuomo should stay in the race, even after losing by more than 12 percentage points to Mamdani in the primary. --With assistance from Aysha Diallo. (Updates with comments by Partnership for New York City CEO in 10th paragraph) Forget DOGE. Musk Is Suddenly All In on AI How Starbucks Is Engineering a Turnaround With Warm Vibes and Cold Foams How Hims Became the King of Knockoff Weight-Loss Drugs Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot The New Third Rail in Silicon Valley: Investing in Chinese AI ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
