U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, an Empire State Republican, called Democratic Big Apple mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a “jihadist.”
“I call Zohran Mamdani a jihadist because he is. Zohran Mamdani is a raging antisemite. Mamdani is the definition of a jihadist as he supports Hamas terrorists which he did as recently as yesterday when he refused to call for Hamas terrorists to put down their arms – the same Hamas terrorist group that slaughtered civilians including New Yorkers on October 7, 2023,” the congresswoman claimed.
Fox News Digital emailed Mamdani’s campaign to request a comment from the New York City mayoral candidate.
Fox News Channel’s Martha MacCallum asked Mamdani during an interview earlier this week whether he believes Hamas should lay down arms and depart from leadership in Gaza.
Mamdani called for ensuring peace between Israel and Palestine.
But MacCallum pressed him again on the issue.
“But you won’t say that Hamas should lay down their arms and give up leadership in Gaza?” she asked.
“I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety, and the fact that anything has to abide by international law,” he said.
Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen of New York referred to Mamdani as “Pro-Hamas Zohran,” asserting that he “is unfit to hold any office in the United States.”
But during a mayoral debate on Thursday when pressed about his comments and asked what he believes about Hamas, Mamdani, a New York State assemblymember, said, “Of course I believe that they should lay down their arms.”
Mamdani describes himself as a “Democratic Socialist” in the biography section of his X account.