Charlie Kirk launched a xenophobic attack on New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Friday, calling him a “parasite” and claiming his presence in the US proves that legal immigration is a problem.
Speaking at the Student Action Summit in Tampa, the 31-year-old right-wing media personality said of younger Americans, “They don’t necessarily believe that immigration makes your country better. You only get Mamdani, you get Ilan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, not just because of illegal immigration.”
“It’s legal immigration that is also the problem. When you allow a bunch of people into your country legally and they don’t share your values, turns out they don’t always assimilate.”
Kirk said that even though 33-year-old Mamdani became a US citizen in 2018 and his Muslim family immigrated to the US legally, he still considers the Democratic mayoral primary winner a “parasite.”
“He’s a self-righteous, narcissistic parasite on New York City and should be expelled from politics,” Kirk told an applauding crowd. “But we let him in. Maybe it’s time, maybe it is time for us to reconsider almost all of our political orthodoxies.”
“Do immigrants really make our country better?” he asked. “Some do. Some of our amazing Cuban immigrants here that I see in the audience. You’ve assimilated. You make America better. But if you come from Somalia and you refuse to learn our language, adopt [sic] to our customs, and assimilate, I’m sorry, America is closed to the third world until further notice. We are not a dumping ground for the rest of the planet.”
The Independent has contacted representatives of Mamdani for comment.
Mamdani, a socialist and New York State Assembly member, won an upset victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo in last month’s Democratic mayoral primary.
Born in Uganda and raised in South Africa before moving to the US, Mamdani’s campaign includes rent freezes, free bus service, city-run grocery stores, public childcare, and a proposed $30 minimum wage by 2030, which has drawn criticism from many Republicans.
Last week, President Donald Trump warned voters of a federal takeover of NYC and Washington, DC if Mamdani becomes mayor. He previously claimed Mamdani is “not very capable” of ruling over NYC.
Meanwhile, rapper 50 Cent said he would pay Mamdani $258,750 for a one-way ticket out of NYC.
