I previously wrote that Zohran Mamdani’s victory speech was the most terrifying speech I’ve seen since Joe Biden’s infamous “red speech” at Independence Hall back in 2022. That says a lot. So does the fact that it has even taken people on the left aback.
Over at CNN Tuesday night, Van Jones delivered a notably cautious assessment of Mamdani’s speech, offering mild praise while also raising significant concerns about the new mayor-elect’s demeanor and approach to governing.
Jones began by recognizing the magnitude of Mamdani’s accomplishment. “He defeated a Democratic Party royalty, the Cuomo. That’s a royal family in our party. Defeated him, defeated the oligarchs and rich folks who jumped in to try to stop him, and then defeated Donald Trump.” Even conservatives can admit that feat was undeniably impressive, especially considering Mamdani’s relative obscurity just a year prior. Younger supporters appeared energized, with Jones noting they “feel a great deal of relief and pride, and they’re fired up. They feel they’ve been silenced for too long.”
Yet Jones’s measured tone suggested deeper reservations about what comes next. He observed a jarring disconnect between the candidate Mamdani presented on the campaign trail and the figure on stage Tuesday evening.
Related: Mamdani’s Victory Speech Was the Most Disturbing Since Biden’s 'Red Speech' at Independence Hall
“I think the Mamdani 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 explained. He emphasized that “the warm, open, embracing guy that’s close to working people was not on stage tonight. There was some other voice on stage.” The shift troubled Jones because it raised fundamental questions about Mamdani’s ability to govern as a unifying figure. Honestly, I can’t imagine that anyone, Jones included, would ever think Mamdani would be a unifying figure, but I digress.
“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?’” he said.
Jones worried the speech revealed something deeper about Mamdani’s character and intentions. He criticized the mayor-elect for squandering a crucial opportunity to broaden his coalition at a pivotal moment. “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.”
It never ceases to amaze me how conservatives can warn the public about who someone really is, and the left seems surprised when they discover that they were right. Barack Obama campaigned as a uniter and governed like a radical leftist. Hillary Clinton campaigned as a uniter, and… well… moving on. Joe Biden campaigned as a uniter, and governed like a radical leftist. The key difference here is that Mamdani didn’t actually try to hide who and what he was. I don’t know what Van Jones has been doing all these months, but clearly, he hasn’t been listening to anything Mamdani has said or promised.
Mamdani’s tone Tuesday night may have been different, but he’s never been shy about saying who he is and what he intends to do. If Van Jones is suddenly flinching, I suspect many others on the left who aren’t ready for the rampant socialism Mamdani has promised are going to be in for a rude awakening, too. He probably wouldn't say so out loud, but I suspect Mamdani's speech made Jones realize just how dangerous he really is.
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