Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) got into a war of words with CNN anchor Laura Coates over him calling New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani a “communist,” just like President Donald Trump has.
Coates, during Monday night’s episode of her program, took issue with that — saying Donalds should only refer to Mamdani, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, as a socialist.
“He’s not a communist, he’s a democratic socialist,” Coates rebutted, after Donalds said Mamdani was a “communist” who was pushing “communist policies.”
“I can’t tell what the difference is!” Donalds responded. “Explain what the difference is.”
“Well, he can describe the difference for you, that socialism is not the same basis of communism in this country. You know that well, you have an economic background,” Coates said.
“The man wants to create government-run grocery stores, he wants free transportation — both of which are impossible to do. Because how—” Donalds replied, before being cut off by Coates.
“You know that communism is a trigger word to try to undermine all of his policies,” Coates chimed in.
Donalds said that is absurd.
“I don’t need to undermine his policies. His policies undermine himself, because they’ve never worked,” Donalds said. “Here’s all I want him to do: tell me where they’ve ever worked. They’ve never worked. He knows that, I know that.”
The communist vs. socialist debate came on the eve of Election Day in NYC. Mamdani is projected to beat ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa to become NYC’s new mayor on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old democratic socialist has campaigned on ideas like freezing the rent, city-owned grocery stores, and free bus rides. Beyond Donalds, those policies have been mocked by other Republicans, including President Trump, who bestowed the nickname “my little communist” on Mamdani.
President Barack Obama, on the other hand, seems to love Mamdani, calling his campaign “impressive” and offering to be a “sounding board” during a phone call reported by The New York Times on Saturday.
Donalds ended the back-and-forth with Coates on Mamdani by saying he is making promises he will not be able to keep.
“The truth is, there is no free lunch, just like there’s no free bus.”
Watch above, via CNN.
