Mark Penn Suggests Democrats And Republicans Team Up To Defeat Mamdani

Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn told Democrats Thursday on Fox News’ “Hannity” to “run away” from Democrat New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani and team up with Republicans to defeat him.

Since winning the Democrat’s mayoral primary in June and beating the state’s former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, along with a handful of other Democrats, Mamdani’s policies and goals for the city have been under media spotlight. Guest host Charlie Hurt asked Penn what advice he would give Democrats about dealing with Mamdani, a socialist Democrat. (RELATED: Pro-Mamdani PAC Took Donation From Islamist Cleric Who Vouched For Terror Plot Mastermind)

“I think it’s important to note that the primary system got changed, and it got moved to hot June. So it’s not the system that it was where there would be now a runoff with Cuomo and Mamdani,” Penn said. “Look, I think the best advice is for Democrats to run away from Mamdani. Having someone with antisemitic socialist views and tendencies as mayor would hurt the Democratic Party, but, more importantly, it hurts the country.”

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“I think Republicans and Democrats have to get together on this and say they have a vested interest,” Penn added. “They won’t let four or five hundred thousand votes in New York, of a city of eight million people, turn this city into a socialist experiment. I think it’s important for them all to get together and, in fact, not let him win this general election just because he got a nomination.”

Among some of Mamdani’s policies for NYC are raising the minimum wage to $30, imposing a state-level corporate tax, applying a 2% flat tax on high earners and generating $10 billion to fund a slew of free amenities. Mamdani has been an outspoken supporter of illegal migrants. He’s vowed to cut the city off from aiding the Trump administration as Trump cracks down on deportation. Mamdani instead wants to make NYC “Trump proof.”

Additionally, Mamdani has flip-flopped and said he won’t “defund the police” and instead seeks to create a new Department of Community Safety, which would shift 911 responses to mental health teams and violence interrupters.

Some Democrats applaud the 33-year-old mayoral candidate and his progressive policies. Others, like Democrat Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, have called out the socialist Democrat. Fetterman appeared on Fox News Thursday saying that, in addition to not agreeing with “virtually” any of Mamdani’s candidacy “politically,” he doesn’t view the candidate as “even really a Democrat.”

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