Mark Halperin claimed House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) “strongly believes” that if socialist Zohran Mamdani becomes the next mayor of New York City, Democrats cannot win back the House majority, though a Jeffries spokesperson denied the claim.
Reports have detailed that Democrat Party leaders still refuse to endorse Mamdani’s bid to become the next leader of the Big Apple, even though he won the Democrat primary.
This includes Jeffries, who reportedly evades reporters’ questions, saying, “I don’t know him well.”
Washington, DC, insider Mark Halperin said that Jeffries remains convinced that Democrats may not be able to retake the majority if Mamdani wins the mayoral race.
“ Hakeem Jeffries strongly believes that if Mamdani wins, he [Jeffries] can’t win the majority,” Halperin said, adding that this comes from “people who’ve spoken directly with the leader.”
Christiana Stephenson, a spokesperson for Jeffries, told independent journalist Ken Klippenstein that this claim is “patently false.”
Mamdani’s rise as a leftist figure in Democrat politics has led to some pushback against him.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said that the mayoral candidate is not “speaking for our party.”
“Look, the mayor of New York has never, never, ever been the leader of the Democratic Party,” Smith he said.
“Mamdani isn’t speaking for our party, any more than I’m speaking for our party. It’s a big tent. It’s a big coalition,” the Washington State Democrat said.
Mamdani has made many controversial statements, including calling for the “abolition of private property.”
“If there was any system that could guarantee each person housing, whether you call it the abolition of private property, or you call it a statewide housing guarantee, it is preferable to what is going on right now,” he said.
He has also said that law enforcement should not respond to domestic violence emergency calls.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
