Dem governor criticizes Mamdani for not condemning 'blatantly antisemitic' rhetoric

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, slammed Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for not condemning "blatantly antisemitic" rhetoric while campaigning to lead New York City. 

"I’ll say this about Mamdani or any other leader," Shapiro reportedly said in an interview with Jewish Insider. "If you want to lead New York, you want to lead Pennsylvania, you want to lead the United States of America, you’re a leader."

"I don’t care if you’re a Republican or Democratic leader or a democratic socialist leader," the governor reportedly added. "You have to speak and act with moral clarity, and when supporters of yours say things that are blatantly antisemitic, you can’t leave room for that to just sit there. You’ve got to condemn that."

MAMDANI TO TAKE EXTENDED AFRICA TRIP AMID CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR OF NEW YORK

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro slammed fellow Democrat, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, for failing to condemn antisemitic rhetoric. (Getty Images)

"He seemed to run a campaign that excited New Yorkers," Shapiro, a possible 2028 presidential candidate, said of Mamdani's economic proposals. "He also seemed to run a campaign where he left open far too much space for extremists to either use his words or for him to not condemn the words of extremists that said some blatantly antisemitic things." 

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who endorsed Mamdani after losing to him in the June Democratic primary, came to his defense. 

"Let’s be clear: Zohran Mamdani won the votes of a large majority of NYC Democrats, including thousands of proud Jews like me, inspired by his vision of a city everyone can afford and confident about his commitment to combating antisemitism and hate," Lander said in a statement, according to Politico. "Josh Shapiro won’t help keep Jews safe in NYC or Pennsylvania by feeding Trump’s narrative about our Democratic nominee for mayor."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeen Jeffries, both New York Democrats, have so far withheld endorsements of Mamdani, expressing concern over the mayoral hopeful's comments on Israel. 

Mamdani drew backlash for refusing to condemn the slogan "globalize the intifada." He has since backtracked while courting New York City business leaders, saying he would no longer use the phrase and would discourage his supporters from using it. Meanwhile, New York City college campuses, including Columbia University, have faced rising antisemitism and anti-Israel protests and encampments in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas terrorists in Israel. 

Mamdani has defended BDS, or Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, saying at a May town hall that the anti-Israel movement "is consistent with my core of my politics, which is nonviolence."

Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks at an endorsement event from the Union DC 37 on July 15, 2025, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York has been pivotal to controlling the House majority over the past three elections. 

CUOMO QUIPS ‘EVEN I WILL MOVE TO FLORIDA’ IF MAMDANI WINS NYC MAYORAL BID

Democrats in battleground districts especially have attempted to distance themselves from Mamdani. That includes Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who said Mamdani's primary win should be a "loud wake-up call for the Democratic Party." Rep. Laura Gillen, another Democrat from a Long Island swing district, said that Mamdani, a socialist, "is too extreme to lead New York City," accusing the mayoral hopeful of promoting "a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments." 

Punchbowl News reported last month that some New York Democratic members of Congress "literally ran away" from reporters asking about Mamdani's candidacy. 

Meanwhile, progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have embraced Mamdani, now considered the front-runner ahead of the November general election. 

Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear – another two possible 2028 presidential contenders – have praised Mamdani's primary victory as a lesson for Democrats. 

While Mamdani's campaign attempted to appeal to working-class voters by stressing economic injustice and housing affordability, he is the Ugandan-born son of an acclaimed Indian filmmaker and a Columbia University professor. His proposals also echo socialist and communist principles, including government-run grocery stores, rent freezes and abolishing prisons. 

Mamdani defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by more than 12 percentage points last month, securing the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. Mamdani still faces Cuomo, who formally declared his independent mayoral bid earlier this month. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is also running as an independent, as is former federal prosecutor Jim Walden. "Guardian Angels" founder Curtis Sliwa is the Republican mayoral candidate.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

At a Jewish heritage night in early July, Adams encouraged Jewish New Yorkers not to flee the city and slammed Mamdani for saying that he would look into increasing taxes in wealthier and "whiter" neighborhoods. 

"You have the right to be in this city and anywhere in this country," Adams said, according to the Times of Israel. "Don’t live in fear, don’t live in anxiety. This city belongs to you as it belongs to every group that lives in this city."