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New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was repeatedly pressed by NBC News host Kristen Welker on Sunday about why he doesn’t want to condemn the phrase, “globalize the intifada,” insisting that he didn’t want to “police language.”
“I want to ask you about an issue that has divided New Yorkers in recent weeks. You were recently asked about the term ‘globalize the intifada,’ if it makes you uncomfortable. In that moment, you did not condemn the phrase. Now, just so folks understand, it is a phrase that many people hear as a call to violence against Jews,” Welker said. “So I want to give you the opportunity to respond here and now, do you condemn that phrase, ‘globalize the intifada?'”
Mandami, a Democratic socialist, defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary last week.
“That’s not language that I use. The language that I use, the language that I will continue to use to lead this city, is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights,” Mamdani responded. “And ultimately, that’s what is the foundation of so much of my politics, the belief that freedom and justice and safety are things that, to have meaning, have to be applied to all people and that includes Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
NBC News host Kristen Welker grilled NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mandami on whether he condemns the phrase “globalize the intifada.” (NBC News/MeetThePress)
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Welker asked Mamdani once again if he condemned the phrase.
Mamdani said he had spoken to several Jewish New Yorkers regarding their concerns about antisemitism and added, “I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech.”
“Ultimately, what I think I need to show is the ability to not only talk about something but to tackle it and to make clear there is no room for antisemitism in the city. We have to root out that bigotry and, ultimately, we do that through the actions, and that is the mayor I will be, one that protects Jewish New Yorkers and lives up to that commitment through the work that I do,” he continued.
Welker asked again why he wouldn’t just “condemn” the phrase, citing those who care about the language and feel concerned over the phrase.
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, arrives for a news conference at Astoria Park during the New York City mayoral Democratic primary in the Queens borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“My concern is, to start to walk down the line of language and making clear what language I believe is permissible or impermissible, takes me into a place similar to that of the president, who is looking to do those very kinds of things, putting people in jail for writing an op-ed, putting them in jail for protesting. Ultimately, it is not language that I use. It is language I understand there are concerns about, and what I will do is showcase my vision for the city through my words and my actions,” Mamdani said.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., called on Mamdani to denounce the phrase on Thursday during a heated exchange with WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer.
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Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani takes the stage at his primary election party on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
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During an interview with Stephen Colbert ahead of the primary, Mamdani was also pressed on antisemitism in New York.
“Does the State of Israel have the right to exist?” Colbert asked the 33-year-old Democratic socialist.
“Yes,” Mamdani responded. “Like all nations, I believe it has the right to exist and a responsibility also to uphold international law.”
