Zohran Mamdani’s fiery, 25-minute victory speech Tuesday night left veteran Democratic strategists David Axelrod and Van Jones a bit stunned for what, they said, it didn’t include — neither the “warmth” the Democratic socialist displayed on the campaign trail nor a call to unify the city he will need to lead come Jan. 1.
Mamdani, the 34-year-old socialist and state lawmaker from Queens, made history Tuesday night as he was elected the city’s first Muslim mayor after a hard-fought and, at times, biutterly divisive battle with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
In impassioned remarks to his supporters, Mamdani didn’t pull any punches as he savagely wished Cuomo “only the best in private life,” affirming, “Let tonight be the final time I utter his name.” He also addressed President Donald Trump directly: “To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”
He further goaded Trump: “I have four words for you. Turn the volume up.”
But the overall tone of the speech aside, there was another reason it didn’t land well with CNN commentators Axelrod, one of Barack Obama’s most senior advisers during his administration, and Jones, who briefly served as an environmental adviser in the Obama administration.
“I was disappointed by it because this was his big introduction to the city as the new mayor,” said Axelrod. “This was a shouted speech, not a talk with the city on the night of his election, ushering in a new era.”
Axelrod added that he was “happy” to hear Mamdani denounced antisemitism in his speech and that he would work alongside police to tackle violent crime.
“But the one thing that I will say that I‘m happy about is to hear [Republican strategist and fellow CNN panelist] Scott Jennings talk about how he is repulsed by divisive speech. And I think that everyone should note and use that index to judge all of our leaders,” Axelrod added, getting in a none-too-veiled dig at Trump.
Jones, too, seemed a bit surprised by the speech and said that he felt Mamdani “missed an opportunity” and the “tone was off.”
“I think the Mamdai that we saw in the campaign trail, who was a lot more calm, who was a lot warmer, who was a lot more embracing, was not present in that speech,” Jones said.
“I think his tone was sharp. I think he was using the microphone in a way that he was almost yelling,” Jones added.
“And that‘s not the Mamdani that we‘ve seen on TikTok and the great interviews and stuff like that. So I felt like it was a little bit of a character switch here.”
The pundit followed up by acknowledging the “joy and excitement in the room” as Mamdani spoke. “I think that people have felt unheard and unseen, especially some of the younger people,” Jones said.
Mamdani’s refusal, meanwhile, to apologize for being a socialist seemed to ruffle the feathers of Republicans on CNN’s election night panel.
“He put every old guard national Democrat on notice,” said. Jennings, who served in the George W. Bush administration, said to Axelrod. “This man sounded like a national candidate.”
Moments earlier, Jennings labeled Mamdani’s victory lap “a divisive speech.”
Meanwhile, Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as White House communications director in the first Trump administration, compared Mamdani’s speech to Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who earlier in the night was the victor in Virginia’s gubernatorial race and the first woman to ever be elected to the position in the state.
“It felt Trumpian,” Griffin said of Mamdani’s speech. “He started by saying he dare not say the name of Cuomo again … juxtapose that to Abigail Spanberger, who took a moment to acknowledge [Republican Lieutenant Governor] Winsome Earle-Sears and to thank her for running a good race.
Spanberger also said she looked forward to being the governor for all of Virginia, not just those who voted for her, as is more traditional, especially after a contentious race.
“There’s a moment to rise to the occasion he did not choose,” Griffin concluded.
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