Fetterman slams Mamdani’s NYC primary win as ‘gift’ to Republicans

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., told Fox News’ Chad Pergram on Thursday that 33-year-old socialist Zohran Mamdani winning New York City’s Democratic primary is “Christmas in July for the GOP.”

“Everything that I’ve read on him, I don’t really agree with virtually any of it politically,” Fetterman explained. “That’s just where I’m at as a Democrat. He’s not even a Democrat, honestly.”

Fetterman has built a reputation in the U.S. Senate for breaking with his party on politically divisive issues, like support for Israel and immigration reform. And while Mamdani handily won New York City’s primary in June, the New York Democratic Party’s old-guard establishment has yet to fully embrace their socialist nominee. 

The Pennsylvania Democrat said Mamdani’s political rise will be the Republican Party’s gift that keeps on giving, telling Pergram that Mamdani “provided an opportunity for the GOP to brand our party” along his radical policy lines, which includes campaign promises like taxing the 1%, free city buses, rent increase freezes, and city-run grocery stores, to name a few. 

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Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo are both running in the general election as independents. While Adams stayed out of the Democratic primary amid low approval ratings and since-dropped federal indictment charges, Mamdani defeated Cuomo through New York City’s ranked-choice voting. 

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Joining the growing chorus of politicians calling for Adams and Cuomo to consolidate their votes against Mamdani, Fetterman told Fox News, “They have to figure out on the other side. Otherwise, it’s a sure mutual destruction if they all remain in that race.”

Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor, is also running as an independent in the general election, and Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa is the Republican mayoral nominee for the second straight election. 

Mamdani secured the endorsement of New York Democrat Rep. Adriano Espaillat on Thursday, who had endorsed Cuomo in the primary. Mamdani said he is in discussions with New York Democrats Gov. Kathy Hochul, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, though none has yet to publicly endorse him.

New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani shocked the political establishment when he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary. (Reuters/Bing Guan)

While some Democratic strategists and pundits have dubbed Mamdani’s primary win an indicator of a general shift for a party struggling to find its footing in the aftermath of losing Congress and the White House in 2024, Fetterman said a New York City Democratic primary is “not an accurate reflection of the electorate.”

“It’s definitely not Pennsylvania. It’s not Wisconsin. It’s not Nevada. If you look at any of the battleground states, New York City has no actual relevance to the kinds of states and the kind of races which determine that in 2028,” Fetterman told Pergram. 

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He added: “Is it going to be useful for attack campaigns? Absolutely. He’s a gift to the Republicans in that way, but there’s no lessons to be learned. There’s no special kind of insight. For New York City, politically, that’s a circus mirror of the reality of politics and the politics of our country.”

Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Fox News’ Lucy Cox and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.