Former White House adviser Matt Mowers on Friday accused New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani of using the nation's 250th anniversary to promote communism rather than celebrate America's founding, telling Newsmax the democratic socialist's remarks were divisive.
"This is what you expect out of the communists," Mowers told guest host Christina Bobb on "Ed Henry: The Big Take." "They don't believe in the pride of a nation. They believe in a radical political ideology which spans across countries."
Mamdani, who became a U.S. citizen in 2018, delivered a roughly 15-minute speech Friday from City Hall while seated at George Washington's desk and flanked by newly naturalized American citizens. He described the United States as a "nation of contradictions," criticized capitalism, wealth inequality, and U.S. involvement in foreign wars, and argued the nation's founding ideals remain a work in progress.
Mowers said the timing of the speech, on the eve of Independence Day and the nation's semiquincentennial celebration, was deliberate.
"That's why he chose the day before our 250th celebration of our independence, in order to launch this divisive type of speech," Mowers said. "He's trying to tear people apart at a time when we should be united and celebrating."
He also criticized Mamdani for surrounding himself with newly naturalized citizens while giving the address.
"What really sunk it to me in particular was the fact that he was using these new legal citizens as political props to stand around him," Mowers said. "I was actually looking to see if any of them were going to blink in Morse code. I thought they were being held hostage against their own choosing."
Mowers contrasted Mamdani's remarks with the attitudes of many immigrants who come to the U.S. legally and become citizens.
"Some of the most proud individuals you've ever met who are so proud of being Americans are those who have come here legally," he said. "They have earned their citizenship, and they love this country — not like Mamdani, who hates it."
Mamdani's speech drew criticism from Republicans, who argued he used a historic national milestone to focus on the country's shortcomings rather than commemorate its founding. Supporters, meanwhile, said the mayor sought to frame patriotism as recognizing America's imperfections while striving to fulfill its founding principles.
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