"The Breakfast Club co-host told Mediaite founding editor Colby Hall that Democrats have weakened their own message by treating Trump as both an existential threat and a political partner. Former President Joe Biden, he explained, said repeatedly during the 2024 election cycle that Trump was a threat to democracy. Yet when he won the presidency, Biden was standing outside the White House saying, Welcome home.' He argued the same contradiction applied to former President Barack Obama at the January memorial for former President Jimmy Carter, adding pointedly: You wouldn't be playing footsie with a fascist at a funeral, right, President Obama?"
"To Charlamagne, this type of behavior contradicts attempts by Democrats to label the president a fascist, a word he feels should be reserved for pundits, rather than politicians themselves. If these are just regular political disagreements and we've gotten to the point where the rhetoric can be so intense for them, but those words don't actually matter, man, how much stock should we really put into it? he asked."
"Out of that field, Mamdani would probably be the best person for mayor of New York, he said, pointing out that Democratic leaders dug themselves further into a hole by keeping their distance from the Democratic socialist, even as his message resonated deeply with voters. He pointed to the moment Mamdani broke from the field during the first mayoral debate, as his competitors all shared they would take their first overseas trip as mayor to Israel. Instead, the mayor-elect said he was strictly thinking about New York."
Democratic leaders have weakened their message by treating Donald Trump as both an existential threat and a political partner. Joe Biden repeatedly framed Trump as a threat to democracy during the 2024 election, yet publicly greeted him after Trump's victory. Similar conciliatory gestures extended to other political moments, creating rhetorical contradictions when using terms like "fascist." The use of extreme labels has become diluted if ordinary political interactions continue unchanged. Party leaders' distance from progressive figures, exemplified by reluctance to embrace Zohran Mamdani, further alienated voters even as his New York-focused message gained traction.
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