On Sunday’s The Weekend: Primetime, MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin suggested that Mamdani was being unfairly targeted by critics on the right because of his Muslim faith and his cultural identity. “There is a double standard,” he said, nodding to Mamdani’s supposed persecution and labeling criticism of the assemblyman as “vulgar” and “ugly.”
Leave it up to an MSNBCer to make an accusation and hide behind not backing it up. Mohyeldin hinted at that Islamophobia was what drove the criticism of Mamdani, he even suggested he a had a bunch of evidence but didn’t want to go into it:
I do think, and I'm speaking here for myself, as somebody who has observed him over the course of the last several months, there is a double standard that is being applied to him that is not being applied to other politicians. And it's for obvious reasons, not just because of his politics on what has happened overseas in Gaza, but the way he has stood up and defended certain principles around free speech in this city, but also because of what his faith is, what his identity is. And those are central to him. And I think that's new to many people in this country. And we're seeing that being weaponized in a very ugly and vulgar way. I think that double standard needs to be questioned. We don't ask other politicians the same questions that we're asking him. I can give you a lot of examples, but I won't go on– into that.
Mamdani’s “standing up” for free speech is not the political gold-star MSNBC wants you to believe it was. The comment refers to Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the anti-Semitic phrase “globalize the intifada”, which has been used to encourage terrorist attacks and violence against Jewish people across the world all under the guise of “protecting free speech”. In an interview on MSNBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday, he claimed he does not want to infringe on free speech, in an attempt to separate himself from President Trump, who he called authoritarian and claimed was jailing journalists.
This criticism was by no means based on the Mamdani’s Muslim faith, but rather his refusal to separate himself from extremist rhetoric and groups. Republicans weren’t the only ones critiquing him.
In an article published by left-leaning The Atlantic, Mamdani was also criticized for his refusal to condemn the phrase and its meaning.
He was also called out by the United States Holocaust Museum on X for tip-toeing around the meaning of the phrase. The museum asserted that the term “intifada” was sanitized after Mamdani claimed that it simply means resistance in Arabic. Mamdani insisted he did not personally use the phrase, but did not want to "police" those who did.
Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase had raised concern across the board, garnering criticism from both Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike.
His refusal to clearly distance himself from actors known to have supported violent extremism in the Middle East was not a theological issue, it was one of national security– especially in New York City, the place with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
Mohyeldin then claimed that other politicians do not receive the same questions that Mamdani has been asked, but refused to elaborate – again, saying he had examples but wouldn’t go into them.
The left’s attempt to shield Mamdani from criticism by invoking Islamophobia was part of a broader pattern in progressive politics: use identity as armor, and label dissent as bigotry.
The double standard here wasn’t being applied to Mamdani, it’s being created by his defenders. No other elected official could maintain visible ties to groups associated with any form of terrorism, left or right, without serious media scrutiny. But when Mamdani did it, outlets like MSNBC fall over themselves to suggest the backlash is due to his religion.
The entire transcript is below. Click "expand" to read.
MSNBC’s The Weekend: Primetime
June 29, 2025
7:43:14 PM ESTANTONIA HYLTON: Welcome back to The Weekend Primetime. So much to digest from our interview with Zohran Mamdani, guys. Ayman, I want to start with you. Since you're the first to get him on national TV.
CATHERINE RAMPELL: You are responsible!
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: No, not at all. Not at all.
HYLTON: No- no. I’m not– That was a joke. But– but seriously, to see the sort of, like, transformation, the growth in this campaign, were you surprised by what's transpired the last week?
MOHYELDIN: I was very–
HYLTON: What's your reflection on our interview?
MOHYELDIN: I was very surprised, and I was surprised because one of the things that he has been very consistent about is his messaging. When you go back and watch some of the– the first interviews that he was doing about what he wanted to focus on: affordability, having a really kind of like progressive economic agenda, a wider social net. Those were things that he talked about in those first days, and many people thought it was a pipe dream. But I think he stayed consistent, messaged very– in a very disciplined way, and it obviously has paid off.
I think what's interesting now is to see the conversation around him and how that has changed, and how politics may change that going forward. And that's why I was asking about will he change his approach? Will things be different? He's committed to not being different. So it'll be interesting to see that.
I do think, and I'm speaking here for myself, as somebody who has observed him over the course of the last several months, there is a double standard that is being applied to him that is not being applied to other politicians. And it's for obvious reasons, not just because of his politics on what has happened overseas in Gaza, but the way he has stood up and defended certain principles around free speech in this city, but also because of what his faith is, what his identity is. And those are central to him. And I think that's new to many people in this country. And we're seeing that being weaponized in a very ugly and vulgar way.
I think that double standard needs to be questioned. We don't ask other politicians the same questions that we're asking him. I can give you a lot of examples, but I won't go on– into that.
So, I think it has exposed, but at the same time, it has challenged us in a, in a new and interesting and I would argue, an important, exciting way for our city. But I thought your questions were very fascinating, and I was actually proud of the fact that we were able to get into this in ways that other shows have not been able to. They've been taking the low hanging fruit, talking about these kind of New York Post sensationalist headlines. But I thought we were we were able to get– and I don't know how you thought from an economics point of view–
RAMPELL: I mean, I have so many more questions I could have asked him about his economic policies again, many of which I think sound great, but I'm skeptical that they can be manifested into reality, either because there isn't money for it, or because I think they haven't been totally thought through. And I'm really glad that we were able to have a conversation, at least in part on– on those things and less about some of the identity politics, and I mean, the stuff that–
MOHYELDIN: The right-wing is using to attack him for, and labels and–
RAMPELL: Right. I mean, I think there are plenty of reasons you could quibble with his campaign that are completely unrelated to his faith–
MOHYELDIN: Yes.
RAMPELL: –to, you know, to his race and, and everything else. I'd rather keep it on the substance.
(...)
