Exclusive: Vance on Mamdani: ‘Who the hell does he think that he is?’



Vice President JD Vance tore into the Democratic rising star Zohran Mamdani in a Sunday night speech over his apparent ingratitude and disregard for American tradition as he vies to helm the United States' largest city.

During his keynote speech for the Claremont Institute on Sunday, Vance methodically detailed how Mamdani's mayoral candidacy insults the very culture, history, and generosity of the country that allowed him to succeed, according to a transcript exclusively obtained by Blaze News. Mamdani, whose family fled political persecution in Uganda, won the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City and is shaping up to be the front-runner in the contested race against current NYC Mayor Eric Adams (independent).

"If our victory and President Trump's victory in 2024 was rooted in a broad, working- and middle-class coalition, Mamdani's coalition is almost the inverse of that," Vance said.

'Hatred ... this is the animating principle of the American far left.'

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Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images

Although he campaigned on progressive policies that are typically targeted toward "underprivileged" and protected classes, Mamdani won high-income, college-educated voters. He also did particularly well in New York City's gentrified neighborhoods, like Ridgewood and Bushwick. At the same time, he struggled among black voters and voters without a college degree.

"That's an interesting coalition," Vance noted. "Maybe it works in the New York Democratic primary. I don't think it works particularly well in the United States at large."

"His victory was the product of a lot of young people who live reasonably comfortable lives but see that their elite degrees aren't really delivering what they expected," Vance added. "And I say that not to criticize them, because I think that we should care about all the people in our country. ... But we have to be honest about where its coalition is. It is not the downtrodden. It's not for Americans. It is not about dispossession. It's about the elite."

Vance describes Mamdani and his supporters' progressive worldview as ultimately paradoxical, uniquely motivated by a disdain for the American tradition.

"How could privileged whites march around with a straight face and decry white privilege?" Vance asked. "How could progressives pretend to love conservative Muslims despite their views on gender and sexuality? The answer is obvious. ... The radicals at the far left, they don't need a unifying ideology of what they're for, because they know very well what they're against."

"What unites Islamists; gender studies majors; socially liberal, white urbanites; and Big Pharma lobbyists? It isn't the ideas of Thomas Jefferson or even Karl Marx," Vance added. "It's hatred ... this is the animating principle of the American far left."

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Photographer: Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Vance takes issue with the progressives' disregard for American history and, by proxy, for American values. In Mamdani's case, Vance criticizes his ungrateful attitude toward the very country that welcomed him and allowed him to prosper.

"The person who wishes to lead our largest city had, according to multiple media reports, never once publicly mentioned America's independence today in earnest," Vance said. "But when he did so this year, this is what he said, an actual quote: 'America is beautiful, contradictory, unfinished. I am proud of our country, even as we constantly strive to make it better.' There is no gratitude in those words, no sense of owing something to this land and the people who turned its wilderness into the most powerful nation on Earth."

"I wonder, has he ever read the letters from boy soldiers in the Union army to parents and sweethearts that they'd never see again?" Vance asked. "Has he ever visited the grave site of a loved one who gave their life to build the kind of society where his family could escape racial theft and racial violence? Has he ever looked in the mirror and recognized that he might not be alive were it not for the generosity of a country he dares to assault on its most sacred day? Who the hell does he think that he is?"

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Here are the top 3 LEAST patriotic members of Congress



While millions of Americans across the country are gearing up for their Fourth of July festivities, here are three members of Congress who likely won't share their enthusiasm.

3. Jasmine Crockett

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas has had several standout moments during her political career. Like many others in her party, Crockett has had her fair share of criticisms of the Trump administration, and she's even gone so far as to root for other countries over the one she was elected to represent.

'I can go through pretty much the entire South and tell you that they're broke and rely on a lot of welfare from the government.'

During a February interview on "The Breakfast Club," Crockett said she was "rooting for" Canada and Mexico over the United States because they were standing up to the "crazy regime from Mar-a-Lago."

“The fact that I’m rooting for Canada and I’m rooting for Mexico a lot is really wild, but they are really the ones that are speaking truth to power right now," Crockett said.

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett says Trump impeachment inquiry 'absolutely' on the table

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Crockett has also displayed disdain for Republican constituencies in particular, calling red states "deplorable" for not embracing the radical gender ideology her party touts. On a separate occasion, Crockett called red states "broke," accusing them of being too reliant on "big blue states."

"Down in Alabama, who's broke, down in Louisiana, who's broke — I can go through pretty much the entire South and tell you that they're broke and rely on a lot of welfare from the government," Crockett said. "To be perfectly honest, it is tax dollars from these big blue states. ... We're in the 'find out' phase."

Of course we cannot forget the infamous "hot wheels" comment Crockett made toward Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas back in March, apparently mocking him for his disability. Crockett notably refused to apologize for her remarks.

2. Rashida Tlaib

Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan has reliably railed against America, specifically the concept of American sovereignty, throughout the span of her political career.

'Impeach the motherf**ker.'

Tlaib has repeatedly called for ICE to be abolished, claiming its sole purpose is to terrorize illegal aliens even though they broke the law by entering the country illegally. Rather than celebrating the country she represents on the Fourth of July, Tlaib insisted that America consists of "broken systems rooted in racism that allow folks to be harmed and killed."

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Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Like some of her other Democratic colleagues, the Palestinian-American has also spent much of her career focused on other parts of the globe outside the United States.

Tlaib has become known for her advocacy and support for Palestine over Israel, the country that is regarded to be America's ally in the region. When Tlaib takes a break from calling to "impeach the motherf**ker," referring to Trump, she is likely being censured by the House for "promoting false narratives" about the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7.

1. Ilhan Omar

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar's political career is a treasure trove of anti-American sentiment. One of the most glaring instances of blatant disregard for Americans is the "some people did something" scandal of 2019.

Omar was speaking at a fundraiser for the Council on American-Islamic Relations when she downplayed the deadliest terrorist attack ever to take place on American soil.

'We're a country built on stolen land and the backs of slaves.'

"CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties," Omar said at the fundraiser.

Although Omar's comments sparked outrage, the congresswoman doubled down and made the atrocity about herself.

"I think it is really important for us to make sure that we are not forgetting, right, the aftermath of what happened after 9/11," Omar said in an interview following the scandal. "Many Americans found themselves now having their civil rights stripped from them. And so what I was speaking to was the fact that as a Muslim, not only was I suffering as an American who was attacked on that day, but the next day I woke up as my fellow Americans were now treating me a suspect."

RELATED: The US is now 'one of the worst countries' because of Trump's actions, says Ilhan Omar

Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

This wasn't just a one-off Freudian slip for Omar. Rather, the Somali native has a steady track record of spewing anti-American rhetoric. Omar has called Americans she disagrees with "stupid" and even said the United States has "turned into one of the worst countries."

Omar herself admits she grew up in a dictatorship in Somalia, but she still insisted that the recent Army parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America's founding somehow demonstrated that the U.S. is worse than the country she is originally from.

Her bias against the United States and in favor of foreign countries has been a topic of conversation for her entire career, and it can be best demonstrated by comparing her own statements about American independence and Somalian independence.

Omar, a representative for the United States, celebrated Somalian independence in a Tuesday post on X depicting a man waving her native flag.

However, her praise seems to be reserved exclusively for Somalia. Back in 2018, she posted a critical statement to mark America's independence.

"We shouldn't revise history," Omar wrote. "We're a country built on stolen land and the backs of slaves. Independence Day allows us to reflect on how far we've come and how much farther we have to go. Leveraging our voice to fight for justice is as American as it gets. Happy 4th of July."

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