Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement, joined Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan Proft to discuss the election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s next mayor and what it signals about the broader direction of the Democratic Party and the country.
Jasser said Mamdani’s victory represents the culmination of a long process of ideological radicalization within the Democratic Party. “We now have a man who would be better suited to lead Gaza City running New York City,” Jasser said. “The software of radicalism has been uploaded into the party and is now fully operational.” He compared the situation to London under Mayor Sadiq Khan, arguing that progressive governance there has eroded both public safety and national identity.
According to Jasser, Mamdani’s success stems from a deliberate blending of Islamist and socialist ideologies. While commentators have framed the new mayor as a “Democratic Socialist,” Jasser said his roots are deeper in Islamist activism, noting that Mamdani has associated with radical imams and figures hostile to American values. “He wraps himself in Muslim identity,” Jasser said, “but he’s part of the global red-green alliance — the convergence of far-left socialism and Islamist extremism.”
Jasser also criticized former President Barack Obama’s endorsement of Mamdani before the election, calling it “Obama 4.0.” He argued that Obama’s influence continues to promote policies that undermine American exceptionalism and expand government control. “Obama socialized American healthcare,” Jasser said. “Now his allies are moving to socialize every aspect of the economy.”
The discussion expanded to Minnesota, where Jasser said the same ideological shift is evident in the political ascent of Somali-American figures like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Minneapolis mayoral candidates Omar Fateh and Jacob Frey. “This is America last politics,” Jasser warned. “You have candidates campaigning in Somali to Somali voters, pledging allegiance to foreign interests instead of American ones.”
Reflecting on his own service as a U.S. Navy officer during Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, Jasser said he finds it deeply offensive that Omar has described American military intervention there as an act of aggression. “We were feeding starving people,” he said. “Now we’re being told by members of Congress that our troops were the villains. That’s the inversion of morality we’re living in.”
Jasser concluded by calling for a national “commission on Americanism” to reassert civic unity and shared purpose. “We can build walls on the border, but the real border is in our consciousness — understanding what it means to be American,” he said. “Unless we rebuild that, we’ll lose this country to the same ideological radicals who already overtook others.”
He cautioned that the lesson from countries like Iran remains clear: “It only takes 10 percent of a population to radicalize a nation. If we don’t wake up soon, that 10 percent will define America’s future.”