John Fetterman rips NYC mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani: ‘Not even a Democrat’

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) blasted New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani Thursday as “not even a Democrat,” and said he doesn’t agree with “virtually any” of his politics.

“Everything that I’ve read on him, I don’t really agree with virtually any of it, politically,” the swing-state senator told Fox News.   

“That’s just where I’m at as a Democrat. He’s not even a Democrat, honestly,” Fetterman said of the socialist Queens assemblyman. 

Mamdani’s stunning upset in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary, in which he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was “Christmas in July for the GOP,” Fetterman argued. 

“[It] provided an opportunity for the GOP to brand our party,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said. 

On the campaign trail, Mamdani proposed eliminating fares on city buses, making CUNY tuition-free, rent freezes and providing taxpayer-funded child care and grocery stores.  

However, Fetterman argued that Mamdani’s primary win is “not an accurate reflection of the electorate.”

“It’s definitely not Pennsylvania. It’s not Wisconsin. It’s not Nevada. If you look at any of the battleground states, New York City has no actual relevance to the kinds of states and the kind of races which determine that in 2028,” Fetterman argued. 

“Is it going to be useful for attack campaigns? Absolutely,” the senator continued. “He’s a gift to the Republicans in that way, but there’s no lessons to be learned.”

“There’s no special kind of insight. For New York City, politically, that’s a circus mirror of the reality of politics and the politics of our country.”

The currently crowded general election field could see Mamdani square off against independent former federal prosecutor Jim Walden, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent as well as former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa is the Republican candidate for New York City mayor.