Those questions about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani might have resulted in a bigger problem for the Democratic Party.
DNC Chair Ken Martin was asked about Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the usage of the term “globalize the intifada.” The term is viewed as a call for violence against Jews/Israel, as well as violence around the world. It’s something we’ve seen on signs at radical protests. Mamdani was given three chances by Kristen Welker to condemn the phrase on “Meet the Press,” and he deflected each time.
That was bad enough, but now, Martin has made it worse with his response on behalf of the DNC on PBS News Hour with anchor Amna Nawaz. Nawaz said some of Martin’s Jewish colleagues think this is “very disturbing” and might be dangerous. Did he agree with that?
Listen as Martin also can’t or wouldn’t condemn the phrase, and indeed talks about how everyone is welcome in their “big tent.” His answer is nuts.
WATCH: Asked about Zohran Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the “globalize the intifada” slogan, DNC chair Ken Martin says Democrats are “a big tent party.” pic.twitter.com/ct5bXiFHPl
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) July 10, 2025
There’s no candidate in this party that I agree 100 percent of the time with, to be honest with you. There’s things that I don’t agree with Mamdani that he said.
But, at the end of the day, I always believe, as a Democratic Party chair in Minnesota for the last 14 years, and now the chair of the DNC, that you win through addition. You win by bringing people into your coalition. We have conservative Democrats. We have centrist Democrats. We have labor progressives like me, and we have this new brand of Democrat, which is the leftist.
And we win by bringing people into that coalition. And at the end of the day, for me, that’s the type of party we’re going to lead. We are a big tent party. Yes, it leads to dissent and debate, and there’s differences of opinions on a whole host of issues. But we should celebrate that as a party and recognize, at the end of the day, we’re better because of it.
Now this is one heck of a cowardly response. He doesn’t condemn the phrase himself, and instead of addressing the evil, he seeks to deflect with “they’re a big tent.” So everyone is cool? Are Communists cool? Terrorists are cool? Are there any moral parameters here? Who would you not take in? If your big tent is inviting in everyone, even bad actors, that might be a problem. When it’s coming from Martin, it’s no longer a fringe thought – this is the Democrat Party.
Elsewhere in the interview, Martin praised the campaign that Zohran Mamdani ran, calling it “brilliant” and saying he ran “for something,” not just against President Donald Trump.
And I think that’s one of the lessons from Mamdani’s campaign, is that he focused on affordability. He focused on a message that was resonant with voters, and he campaigned for something, not against other people or against other things. He campaigned on a vision of how he was going to make New York City a better place to live.
I think that’s one of the lessons. The other lessons, of course, is the tactics he used to get his message out, both a very aggressive in-person campaigning, meeting voters where they’re at, and then also in those digital spaces, using very creative messaging to cut through the noise and to get to voters in an inexpensive but authentic way.
There’s a lot to learn from that campaign, and I’m excited to learn more.
Crazy radical? Eh, who cares, “big tent.”
He showed Democrats can always go lower.
As Nawaz said during the interview, 43 percent of Democrat voters in a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll disapprove of the job that Democrats are doing in Congress now.
Is there any wonder, with the confusion that they have with their leaders?
A big tent(ifada) https://t.co/COr50pm70d
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) July 10, 2025
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