JD Vance thinks the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor should stop talking about all the problems in the U.S. and just be grateful.
Vance, who in February lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for what he perceived as an insufficient show of gratitude, criticized how Zohran Mamdani has been conducting his bid to run the largest U.S. city.
Vance contrasted his grandmother’s views—“she was a Democrat who loved this country and felt gratitude for this country”—with his impression of the New York State Assembly member from Queens.
“Does Mamdani, when you hear him speak, is this a man who feels gratitude for the United States of America?” Vance told Fox News host Will Cain. “Is this a man who feels grateful for all of the opportunities, the incredible bounty of this country?”
“I don’t know the guy, but my sense is he has had a very good life in this country. It would be nice for him to occasionally show a sense of gratitude instead of just attacking the United States for all of its problems,“ said the Hillbilly Elegy author, who campaigned with Donald Trump under a slogan—“Make America Great Again”—which implies the existence of problems.
Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
Born in Uganda, Mamdani lived there and briefly in South Africa as a child before coming to New York when he was seven years old. He attended high school in the Bronx, graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 2014, and became a naturalized citizen in 2018. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020.
As the frontrunner to become New York City’s next mayor, Mamdani has been a target for Republicans like Donald Trump, who threatened to have him arrested and to “look at” his citizenship. The president also warned he would have to “do the right thing” as mayor in exchange for funding.
New Yorkers head to the polls in November to choose between Mamdani, scandal-plagued incumbent Democrat Eric Adams, who is seeking re-election as an independent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—also running as an independent—and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
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