CNN’s Van Jones took issue with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s “character switch” during his impassioned victory speech Tuesday, claiming he squandered an opportunity to unite more New Yorkers after a divisive election.
“I think he missed a chance tonight to open up and bring more people into the tent,” Jones commented to the election night panel. “I think his tone was sharp. I think he was using the microphone in a way that he was almost yelling. And that’s not the Mamdani that we’ve seen on TikTok and the great interviews and stuff like that, so I felt like there was a little bit of a character switch here where the warm, open, embracing guy that’s close to working people was not on stage tonight, and there was some other voice on stage.”
The CNN host pointed out that while Mamdani’s speech may have “appealed to some,” the more approachable and inclusive candidate voters became familiar with during the campaign “was not present in that speech.”
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“I think that Mamdani is the one you need to hear from tonight,” Jones contended. “There are a lot of people trying to figure out, can I get on this train with him or not. Is he going to include me? Is he going to be more of a class warrior even in office?”
Although Jones criticized Mamdani’s victory speech, he did commend the 34-year-old mayor-elect for not only challenging the Democratic establishment, but also defeating them resoundingly.
“He defeated Democratic Party royalty. The Cuomos, that’s a royal family in our party, defeated them. Defeated the oligarchs and rich folks who jumped in to try to stop them, and then defeated Donald Trump,” he stated. “So the triumphalism that you see there is earned.”
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Later in the segment, Jones again lauded Mamdani for accomplishing such a challenging feat, but he cautioned that his intense election night speech may backfire.
“He’s very young, and he just pulled off something that’s very, very difficult, and I wouldn’t write him off, but I think he missed an opportunity to open himself up tonight. And I think that that will probably cost him going forward,” the CNN anchor asserted.
During his passionate post-election speech, Mamdani declared victory on behalf of immigrant New Yorkers and directly addressed President Donald Trump.
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“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants. And as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” he told supporters. “So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”
Mamdani convincingly defeated independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday’s election. The self-described democratic socialist will be the first Muslim mayor in New York City’s history.
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