Mehdi Hasan, Jamaal Bowman, and Hasan Piker went live during Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral victory party on Tuesday night and declared that socialism is “no longer a dirty word” in the Democratic Party. Bowman, who lost his New York House seat in a resounding 2024 primary defeat, has been tipped as a possible choice to lead NYC’s schools under Mamdani – who he endorsed early in the campaign.
The three progressive influencers were later joined on-camera by Mahmoud Khalil, the pro-Palestinian activist detained by the Trump administration as part of its mass deportation push.
Hasan began the conversation by asking Piker, “How do you feel about a socialist mayor of New York?”
Piker, a controversial streamer whose ties to Mamdani and past comments about 9/11 became a flashpoint during the campaign, answered, “I feel electric, I feel amazing. I feel like being uncompromising in your values, whether it be about touching that third rail of speaking out against Israel or primarily focusing on affordability in your campaign strategy, turns out very effective.” Piker added:
It’s something that I know you know, it’s something I have spoken to every f*cking Democrat about. Can I curse on Zeteo? I am sorry. It is something that every Democrat is like, “Why do we keep losing?” I’m like, “This is why!” And now I can just point them around and say, “Hey, he did it, and he won, against AIPAC!”
Hasan then asked Bowman, “You know what they called it during the Cold War? The threat of a good example. Yes! They don’t want him to succeed. Jamal, how worried are you that they’re going to throw the kitchen sink at him now?”
Bowman replied, “I’m always worried about Zohran because they’ve been throwing everything at him already. That’s why we got to be there for him, surround him, uplift him, pray for him.”
Hasan pressed, “You going to be in the administration?”
Bowman answered, “Oh, I have no idea.”
Bowman added, “We’re taking on, we’re taking all right-wing, fake MAGA tough guys. Hasan and Jamal, coming to your town. Let’s get on the bench press. He’s not even close to New York. It don’t matter.”
Piker then joked, “I have legally voted for Zohran Mamdani 65 times! Get at me! Get at me—”
After some back and forth and celebration, Hasan asked Bowman, “But now socialist is not a dirty word anymore. Socialist is not a dirty word anymore.”
Bowman replied, “That’s why they jumped to ‘Communist,’ right? He’s gotta be a communist. Yeah, you got it. Socialist didn’t— immediately jump to communist. Socialist is not a dirty word anymore! Democrats, listen up. Take some lessons. Don’t get on your Ezra Klein nonsense. Don’t let Ezra Klein analyze what happened here. They won’t.”
Watch the clip above.
