Major leaders in the Democratic party – including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and NY Governor Kathy Hochul – have still refused to endorse Democratic nominee for New York Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, despite him winning the primary fair and square.
In this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview, Mehdi presses Doug Jones, a former Democratic senator from Alabama, on the matter. Jones admits, “If you were a Democratic leader, it's hard to not endorse a Democratic nominee.”
“The mayor of New York's got a whole bunch of folks that he's got to deal with in order to get New York where he wants it to be,” Jones explains. “And that's going to take some ability to compromise. If he [Mamdani] does that, he can be successful. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt.”
Jones also discusses the fears of a "democratic socialist" being the candidate.
Mehdi also brings up Trump’s recent handcuffing and arresting of several Democrats, including Senator Alex Padilla and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Mehdi asks Jones if these events vindicate those who were warning others that Trump’s second term would be fascistic and authoritarian.
“There were a lot of people that were sounding the alarm bells, you especially on some of that,” Jones says to Mehdi. “Certainly the arrests are indicative of an authoritarianism that is frightening. And it's also sending a chilling message to folks that we [the Trump administration] mean business when we say it – whether there's any legal basis for it or not makes no difference to this administration.”
Paid subscribers can watch the full interview to hear Mehdi and Jones discuss the Supreme Court’s recent rulings, Trump’s stronghold over the GOP, and whether Jones will consider a run for Alabama governor in 2026.
Free subscribers can watch a 4-minute preview. To watch the full conversation, consider upgrading to a paid subscription and supporting the work we’re doing at Zeteo.
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