During post-election coverage on Tuesday night, CNN contributors Van Jones and Scott Jennings didn’t seem particularly happy with mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D) angry victory speech. They found it a significant tone-shift from his campaign and believed it would only further divide New Yorkers and the “large tent” Democratic Party.
Left-wing Van Jones’s main takeaway from the speech was a lack of recognition: “I think the Mamdani that we saw in the campaign trail, who was a lot more calm, who was a lot warmer, who was a lot more embracing, was not present in that speech.”
He also thought some New Yorkers would have a hard time deciding if they fit in with Mamdani’s vision and admitted, “… he missed a chance tonight to open up and bring more people into the tent.”
CNN’s Van Jones was not a fan of Zohran Mamdani’s angry, far-left, rage-filled victory speech:
“I think he missed an opportunity. I think the Mamdani that we saw in the campaign trail, who was a lot more calm, who was a lot warmer, who was a lot more embracing, was not present… pic.twitter.com/aM2AlcgM1U
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 5, 2025