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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Oliver O'Connell

Marjorie Taylor Greene offers rare GOP praise of Mamdani’s campaign: ‘He talked directly to the people’

MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene has offered some rare Republican praise for the New York mayoral primary campaign of Democrat Zohran Mamdani.

The Georgia congresswoman initially reacted to the presumed victory of the three-term New York State assemblyman, a Muslim, with an edited image of the Statue of Liberty cloaked in a burqa.

She now calls his campaign “unique and smart.”

In an appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast War Room on Real America’s Voice, Green attributed Mamdani’s apparent win over the frontrunner, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, to having “talked directly to the people.”

She said Mamdani “was focused on their issues, focused on their problems, and talking to the people about his solutions.”

Greene added: “I think it's extremely important that we get a hard focus on solving our problems, and that's what people really want. And you know that guy that won … the Democrat primary in the [New York] mayor's race. I've watched quite a few of his videos, and he did something pretty unique and very smart, even though I don't agree with anything he says.”

She continued: “He really ran a campaign where he talked directly to the people. He was focused on their issues, focused on their problems, and talking to the people about his solutions, even though his solutions are insane and they're socialist, probably communist, but … he was talking directly to the people.”

“When we are not talking to the people and not working on the people's problems, we lose the people, and the people will turn elsewhere,” she concluded.

While the Georgia lawmaker is no fan of Mamdani, acknowledging his abilities on the campaign trail is of note amidst the torrent of Islamophobic bigotry otherwise directed at the man who is likely to become the next mayor of New York.

The New York Young Republican Club reacted to the primary results with a “call to action” on X.

“The radical Zohran Mamdani cannot be allowed to destroy our beloved city of New York,” the group wrote.

The group urged the president to invoke the Red Scare-era Communist Control Act to yank Mamdani’s citizenship and “promptly deport him.”

The club called on White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, to take action.

Miller claimed New York City is the “clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration.”

“The entire Democrat party is lining up behind the diehard socialist who wants to end all immigration enforcement and abolish the prison system entirely,” he added.

Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, left, speaks on stage with fellow candidate Comptroller Brad Lander. The pair, one Muslim, one Jewish, cross-endorsed each other in New York’s mayoral primary (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee referred to Mamdani as “little Muhammad” and said he’s “an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York.”

“He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings,” he added.

President Donald Trump reacted to Mamdani’s win on Truth Social: “Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor. We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous.”

He added: “He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart, he’s got AOC+3, Dummies ALL, backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, is groveling over him. Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country!”

Mamdani, who could become the city’s first Muslim and Indian-American mayor, won one of the first major Democratic primaries since the start of Trump’s second stint in the White House.

His platform has largely focused on a growing affordability crisis, with plans for universal childcare, free buses, and a freeze on rent increases in rent-controlled units.

With additional reporting by Gustaf Kilander

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