The first-term New York City mayor, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, blasted people of wealth, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and President Donald Trump’s agenda while speaking from behind a desk once used by George Washington.
Mamdani argued that true American exceptionalism lies in the nation's ability to evolve and include, stating that "nothing is fixed into place."
He gave the speech from a desk used by Washington during his time as president. The desk is housed at New York City Hall and was originally in Federal Hall, the nation's first capitol building, in lower Manhattan.
He described the U.S. as an "arena of supremacy" for the wealthy while highlighting issues like child hunger and the rise of the world's first trillionaire, a reference to Elon Musk. He condemned exclusionary rhetoric, asserting that America belongs not just to those with the "right accent or the right shade of skin" but to all who strive for its ideals.
“Division is the oldest trick in politics and the cheapest, but time and again, including 250 years ago, those forces of division have been vanquished by the forces of progress,” Mamdani said.
The mayor got it wrong, McFarland told show host Jenna Ellis.
“Mamdani said, and I quote, ‘Division is the oldest trick in politics.’ Yeah, as he plays the race card and the class envy card to try to divide people. I mean, he's doing the very same thing that he's criticizing Trump and conservatives of,” McFarland said.
Socialism and Communism are related political and economic theories that both emerged in the 19th century as responses to perceived inequalities brought about by capitalism, particularly following the Industrial Revolution. They share the goal of empowering the working class, and establishing public ownership of the means of production, by eliminating the rich and wealthy known as "The Bourgeoisie."
“Socialism and Communism and even atheism are parasites that have to have a host on which to feed,” McFarland said. “They always borrow from the principles of Christian theism to try to argue against Christian theism.”
McFarland says Mamdani misses the mark on his theory of Trump, conservatives and the provider of rights for Americans.
“Our rights come from God, not government. We are a government based on belief in objective morality or what Jefferson would call self-evident truth. Then there is a God on which all these things are predicated. So, we are exceptional,” McFarland said.
The American characteristics Mamdani most opposes are not the nation’s significant, McFarland said.
“I would say the prosperity and the growth, the influence and the permanence … those things are even downstream. It’s wonderful that America is prosperous. America has been stable. America has been the benevolent force in the world.”
That prosperity lets America offer its citizens a promise: work hard, and you can prosper, too.
“Thirty years ago, I was a farm boy who finished grad school, and I had $58 and the shirt on my back. Three decades later, I've been to five continents, and I’ve got 21 books in print. To God be the glory. I mean, in America, if you're willing to work hard, say your prayers and live right, God will lift you up. That's wonderful,” McFarland said.
