“it always seems impossible until it is done.”
“I will be your democratic nominee for the mayor of new york city.”
[Karah Rucker]
WHO IS ZOHRAN MAMDANI?
“Mamdani offering a very different vision and potentially a new playbook as this bold, democratic socialist.”
“A socialist/communist regime and he is a communist. He tracks all the communist ideologies.”
PERCEPTION OF THE CANDIDATE –
DIFFERS WIDELY DEPENDING ON THE NETWORK YOU’RE WATCHING.
“Zohran mamdani ran an exceptional, inspiring, extraordinary campaign, and he’s galvanized the city and he’s galvanized the country. And donald trump is afraid.”
“This guy is frankly trash on a lot of levels and most frightening in my opinion is the antisemitism. But to lisa’s point, he’s influencing a lot, weirdly. Because apparently people are taking those green pills.”
THE SELF-DESCRIBED DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST –
IS TURNING HEADS AFTER HIS PRIMARY WIN.
WITH RIGHT-LEANING MEDIA LARGELY CAPTURING MAMDANI’S CAMPAIGN AS EXTREME – WARNING HIS LEADERSHIP COULD SEND NEW YORK SPIRALING.
WHILE LEFT-LEANING MEDIA LARGELY SEE HIM AS SOMEONE REIGNITING ENTHUSIASM WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
BUT AS YOU’LL SEE –
NOT ALL DEMOCRATS ARE RALLYING BEHIND THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE.
AND JUST AS DEMOCRATS ARE DIVIDED OVER MAMDANI — SOME LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS ARE ALSO SEEN AS “BREAKING RANKS.”
MAMDANI IN THE MEDIA.
THAT’S THE FOCUS OF TODAY’S BIAS BREAKDOWN.
MAMDANI – A NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMAN – WON THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR MAYOR –
AND DID SO BY SECURING 44 PERCENT OF THE CITY’S RANKED-CHOICE VOTE –
AFTER STARTING THE RACE POLLING AT JUST ONE PERCENT.
BUT EARLY VOTER TURNOUT MORE THAN DOUBLED COMPARED TO 2021, DRIVEN MOSTLY BY 25- TO 34-YEAR-OLDS — THE SAME DEMOGRAPHIC MAMDANI TARGETED THROUGH A SOCIAL-MEDIA-HEAVY, GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN.
“If i was the mayor i’d be working with city council form day one to make halal 8 bucks again.”
“If there was a candidate talking about freezing the rent, making buses free, making universal childcare a reality, are those things you’d support?
“Absolutely you’d have my vote all day.”
BUT MAMDANI’S SUPPORT HASN’T BEEN CLEAR CUT — OR CLEANLY DIVIDED ALONG PARTY LINES.
EVEN AS SOME LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS CELEBRATE HIS WIN AS A BOOST FOR DEMOCRATS, THEY RECOGNIZE THE OBVIOUS:
HE DOESN’T HAVE THE FULL BACKING OF HIS OWN PARTY.
A new york city surprise has republicans and democrats nationwide scratching their head and talking all kinds of trash today.”
“the inside establishment democrats have refused to back their party’s choice or said really vile things about him despite the overwhelming enthusiasm for his candidacy.”
HEADLINES CAPTURED THE DISCOURSE AMONG DEMOCRATS.
DEMOCRATS “DETERMINED TO STOP HIM”
JEWISH DEMS “SOUNDING THE ALARM”.
AND MAMDANI’S WIN “EXPOSES DEMOCRATIC DIVIDE.”
JUST AS THERE’S A FRACTURE AMONG DEMOCRATS OVER MAMDANI –
THE MEDIA ISN’T UNITED ALONG PARTISAN LINES EITHER — WITH A NEW YORK TIMES STORY ON HIS COLUMBIA APPLICATION SPARKING DIVISION AMONG LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS.
THE TIMES REPORTED “MAMDANI IDENTIFIES AS ASIAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN ON COLLEGE APPLICATION.”
“In an interview Mamdani said he did not consider himself either Black or African American, but rather “an American who was born in Africa.” He said his answers on the college application were an attempt to represent his complex background given the limited choices before him.”
MAMDANI’S COMPETITION IN THE RACE – INCUMBENT MAYOR ERIC ADAMS – WHO IS NO STRANGER TO CONTROVERSY – WAS ASKED ABOUT THE COLLEGE APPLICATION REPORT –
“the first thing i did when this indictment was dropped, is i went to new yorkers and said i’m sorry. I should not have put you through this, i dind’t break any laws, but the mere fact you had to read about this, i was sorry.
“he just needs to learn just say sorry, you should not have checked the box.”
SOME VOICES ON THE RIGHT – SIMILARLY AMPLIFIED THE TIMES’ REPORT AS A BAD LOOK FOR MAMDANI.
“He identified as asian, and african american, so he’s tiger woods? I wish there were boxes on these things for liar. Lack of integrity. And antisemite.”
I guess there was no box for trust fund communist douchebag.
BUT SOME VOICES ON THE LEFT – DISMISSED IT AND WERE CRITICAL OF THE TIMES.
“The framing of the story in my opinion from the times, as I read it, one, it didn’t seem newsworthy to me, and tow, it seemed to be red meat for people wo are trying to connect some type of scandal to this application, some type of scandal to his ethnic background.”
“Mamdani identified as asian and black on college application, oh my god, oh my god! Who cares?
its a nonstory. Absolutely a nonstory.”
PRINT NEWS OUTLETS ON THE LEFT – ALSO CRITICIZED THE TIMES’ –
Is the New York Times trying to wreck Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral bid?
The Times Leads the Movement to Stop Mamdani
New York Times hits an abysmal low with hit piece.
PRIOR TO ITS ARTICLE OVER MAMDANI’S COLLEGE APPLICATION –
THE TIMES’ EDITORIAL BOARD WROTE MAMDANI WASN’T THE RIGHT GUY TO LEAD THE CITY –
SAYING “Mr. Mamdani is running on an agenda uniquely unsuited to the city’s challenges.Mr. Mamdani would also bring less relevant experience than perhaps any mayor in New York history.
MAMDANI RESPONDED – SAYING “these are the opinions of about a dozen New Yorkers and our democracy will be decided by close to a million.”
THE TIMES WASN’T THE ONLY EDITORIAL BOARD TO DISTANCE ITSELF FROM MAMDANI –
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE’S EDITORIAL BOARD – WHICH LEANS RIGHT – ALSO ECHOED RESERVATIONS OVER HIS ABILITY TO LEAD NEW YORK CITY, COMPARING HIM TO CURRENT CHICAGO MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON.
WRITING – “Most of Mamdani’s ideas are shared (at least in principle) by Mayor Brandon Johnson, and many of them are popular in blue cities. But experience has taught us here that far-left candidates do not make for effective or popular municipal executives in today’s stressful economy..”
WHILE HE DIDN’T GET THE SUPPORT FROM SOME INSTITUTIONAL VOICES –
MAMDANI DID RECEIVE OTHER ENDORSEMENTS.
“Zohran mamdani today picked up a major endorsement. The united federation of teachers and its 200 thousand members threw its support behind mamdani.”
“senator bernie sanders is an independent of vermont, he endorsed zoran mamdani for mayor.”
I am here loud and proud to rank zohran mamdani number 1 for mayor of new york city.
SO WHAT DO THE EARLY POLLS SAY ABOUT MAMDANI’S CHANCES OF VICTORY?
A SLINGSHOT STRATEGIES POLL HAS MAMDANI – LEADING THE PACK OF MAYORAL CANDIDATES – WITH 35% SUPPORT.
THERE WILL BE FOUR CANDIDATES ON NEW YORK’S BALLOT IN NOVEMBER.
FORMER GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO – WHO LOST THE PRIMARY TO MAMDANI – CAME IN SECOND – AT 25%
THE REPUBLICAN ON THE BALLOT – CURTIS SLIWA – RECEIVED 14%.
AND MAYOR ADAMS TRAILED – AT 11 PERCENT.
13 PERCENT SAID THEY WERE UNDECIDED.
THE POLL CONSISTED OF 1,036 REGISTERED VOTERS IN NEW YORK CITY.
MAMDANI’S CAMPAIGN IS CAPTIVATING THE MEDIA —
SURGING FROM SINGLE-DIGIT POLLING IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PRIMARY TO FRONT-RUNNER STATUS AS WE INCH TOWARD THE GENERAL.
EARLY MEDIA COVERAGE IS REVEALING **SOME PARTISAN PATTERNS.
SOME LEFT-LEANING OUTLETS ARE FRAMING HIS RISE AS A RENEWED JOLT OF ENERGY FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY –
MEANWHILE, RIGHT-LEANING MEDIA CONTINUE TO PORTRAY HIM AS DANGEROUSLY RADICAL.
BUT THE MEDIA NARRATIVE – DOESN’T ALWAYS FIT SO NICELY INTO THESE PARTISAN BOXES.
BECAUSE MAMDANI’S ASCENT ISN’T JUST POLARIZING THE POLITICAL RIGHT –
IT’S RAISING EYEBROWS WITHIN HIS OWN PARTY, TOO.
A CAMPAIGN THAT’S SHAKING UP NEW YORK POLITICS – AND NATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE TOO.
AND THAT’S YOUR BIAS BREAKDOWN.
THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.
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BIG THANK YOU TO IAN KENNEDY AND ALI CALDWELL FOR VIDEO EDITS AND GRAPHICS.
AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US.
I’LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!
