Originally reported by Fox News and The Hill
Mark Penn — longtime Clinton adviser and veteran Democratic pollster — just sounded the alarm. And it wasn’t subtle.
Appearing on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom, Penn described Zohran Mamdani’s shocking victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary as a full-scale emergency for the Democratic Party.
“This is a 911 moment,” Penn said. “He’s an antisemitic socialist. And the party better wake up.”
Penn, who now chairs The Harris Poll and once helped Bill and Hillary Clinton navigate national politics, didn’t mince words: Mamdani’s rise is the most dangerous shift the Democratic base has seen in decades.
The Most Radical Nominee in Modern Memory
Penn called Mamdani “perhaps the most extreme major candidate ever to win such a major office.” And he laid out why:
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Mamdani has refused to condemn the rallying cry “globalize the intifada,” a slogan widely criticized for encouraging violence against Jews.
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He has endorsed seizure of the means of production, parroting Marxist ideology from the floor of the New York State Assembly.
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He supports a radical economic agenda that includes tax hikes, city-owned businesses, and a war on private enterprise.
And yet, this is the man progressives now call their champion.
Penn warned that Mamdani’s general election strategy is clear: make it about him versus Trump, and he’ll rally New York’s deep-blue electorate to his side by default.
“It’s absolutely essential that this not become Mamdani versus Trump,” Penn said. “That’s his strategy. If he can eliminate the idea that there are other candidates… he wins.”
Democrats Need to Choose — Fast
Mamdani will face off in November against sitting Mayor Eric Adams (running as an independent), Republican Curtis Sliwa, and possibly even Andrew Cuomo, who hasn’t ruled out a third-party run.
But Penn argued that Democrats themselves must take responsibility for what’s happening — and take sides.
“The other Democratic candidates have to come in here and say, ‘No, this is about the future of the city… how we reduce crime, not defund it; how we bring business and jobs here, not run them away; and how we make Jews as comfortable as any other minority to live in New York City,’” Penn urged.
The implication? The Democratic Party either purges its radical wing — or surrenders New York, and perhaps its future, to it.
A Primary System Hijacked
Penn didn’t stop at the candidate. He blamed a broken political system that rewards low-turnout primaries dominated by the loudest and most extreme voices.
“The primary system has been hijacked,” he said.
And he’s right. Mamdani surged to victory not on a wave of working-class support, but on an energized, far-left base funded by out-of-town donors and activist networks. He courted celebrity endorsements. He wrapped his radicalism in charisma. And now, he’s one election away from running the most powerful city in America.
