Lefty luminary Van Jones was among those raising alarm at Democratic socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s rage-filled victory speech, noting his instant “character switch” upon winning power.
A roaring Mamdani wasted no time claiming a mandate for his potentially budget-busting progressive agenda, even taunting former President Donald Trump as he rallied his fired-up supporters soon after Tuesday night’s victory.
Jones was quick to point out live on CNN that the 34-year-old’s triumphant demeanor was a far cry from the cool, calm, and collected candidate seen on the campaign trail.
“I think he missed an opportunity. I think the Mamdani that we saw on the campaign trail, who was a lot more calm, who was a lot warmer, who was a lot more embracing, was not present in that speech,” Jones told a post-election CNN panel.
“I think his tone was sharp. I think he was using the microphone in a way that he was almost yelling. That’s not the Mamdani that we’ve seen on TikTok and in the great interviews and stuff like that.”
“I felt like it was a little bit of a character switch here,” he continued, noting that the once “warm, open, embracing guy” had seemingly vanished.
The Democratic pundit, who served as an adviser in the Obama administration, suggested Mamdani would have been better off trying to appease New Yorkers who are wary of his agenda.
“There are a lot of people trying to figure out, ‘Can I get on this train with him or not? Is he going to include me? Is he going to be more of a class warrior even in office?’ I think he missed a chance tonight to open up and bring more people into the tent,” Jones said.
“He’s very young and he just pulled off something very, very difficult. I wouldn’t write him off, but I think he missed an opportunity to open himself up tonight and I think that that will probably cost him going forward.”
Mamdani, who will be New York City’s first Muslim, first South Asian, and first socialist mayor, declared victory about two hours after polls closed.
The Democrat carried 50.4% of the votes to independent candidate Andrew Cuomo’s 42%, with nearly 98% of precincts reporting, according to the city Board of Elections.
“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,” Mamdani declared during his 20-minute victory speech.
“New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city that we can afford, and a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.”
https://nypost.com/2025/11/05/media/cnns-van-jones-among-those-raising-alarm-at-zohran-mamdanis-instant-character-switch-after-winning-nyc-mayoral-race/
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