On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said that New York City Mayor-Elect Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D) has shown “when you stand on principle, Donald Trump and the world will bow to you” and people, even on the right, “respect the fact that Mamdani never ran away from being a Muslim American, he never ran away from his convictions on affordability, he never ran away from his convictions on Gaza.”
Khanna said that Mamdani “shows that when you stand on principle, Donald Trump and the world will bow to you instead of your having to cave and bow to Trump and the far right.”
He added, “[I]t speaks to Mamdani’s boldness that he wanted to meet with Donald Trump. Why? Because it’s customary for the Mayor-elect to meet with the president. There are a lot of people on our side who would say, oh, you can’t go meet with Donald Trump. But Mamdani, like me and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and others, believe you go and you talk to everyone, but you stand on your principles. And what this shows is that’s how you win, that people, even on the other side, will respect that. They respect the fact that Mamdani never ran away from being a Muslim American, he never ran away from his convictions on affordability, he never ran away from his convictions on Gaza. And he had the courage and the boldness to step in front of the Oval Office, and he’s one of the few Democrats who’s done that and have Donald Trump praise him. So, the lesson is more bold, courageous, new generation leadership in our party. I also think he’s a fresh face. It’s important what he’s bringing.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
