Mamdani dodges questions on whether Chuck Schumer should be ousted, jokes how he looks like his dad

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani repeatedly avoided directly answering whether he believes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., needed to leave by joking in a new interview how much he resembles his father.

Zeteo’s Mehdi Hasan asked Mamdani multiple times on his show Sunday about Schumer’s role as a leader in the Democratic Party and whether it was time for him to go. During the podcast, Mamdani did not say whether he supported Schumer stepping down or being replaced.

“I think it’s time for me to focus on this transition and to start delivering for New Yorkers from day one,” Mamdani said before discussing the government shutdown. “I think I’ve been clear. I think it was a very bad deal. It does not make any sense to me to have fought for the extension.”

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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani showed a photo of his father on Mehdi Hasan’s podcast. (Screenshot/Zeteo)

“I’m sorry to break this to you, Zohran Mamdani,” Hasan interrupted. “You are now a prominent national Democrat. Your name is up there when people talk about Democratic leaders. So when we’re talking about Chuck Schumer’s effectiveness, whether he should stay in the role, people expect you to have an opinion.”

Mamdani went on to criticize the Senate deal to end the government shutdown rather than Schumer himself.

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When Hasan later asked about Mamdani discouraging a primary challenger to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Mamdani borrowed a phone to show Hasan an image of his father, Mahmood Mamdani, whom he claims looks like Schumer.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., right, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, have been called out by progressive members of their party. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

“Is that why you won’t call for Chuck Schumer to go? Because he looks like your dad?” Hasan said.

“Right? This is my dad,” Mamdani said. “This is a Zeteo exclusive.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s team for comment.

Despite growing criticism of Schumer and Jeffries from progressive Democrats, Mamdani has not publicly called on either of them to step down and has even discouraged City Council member Chi Ossé from running a primary against Jeffries.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has not publicly supported primary challengers against Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“I think that right now is not the time to be engaging in that kind of a primary. I think the focus should be on delivering on this affordability agenda,” Mamdani told PIX11 in November.