‘Angry, Bitter, Divisive, and Dumb’: Karl Rove Goes OFF on Mamdani Over Islamophobia Speech

Fox News’ Karl Rove sounded off on Zohran Mamdani on Thursday over the New York City mayoral favorite’s recent speech on Islamophobia, expanding on a critical Wall Street Journal column.

For the Journal, Rove called Mamdani’s speech “angry, bitter, divisive and dumb.”

“The impression Mr. Mamdani created wasn’t of New York as a welcoming community, a joyful mix of cultures, races, religions and ethnicities. ‘We know the truth,’ he said. ‘This is who we have allowed ourselves to become.’ His implication was that New York, dominated by bigots, is a city enraged and polarized,” wrote Rove. “Even after all this, Mr. Mamdani could have brought his city together by making it clear that most New Yorkers didn’t harbor animus over religion or race. That most New Yorkers glory in the diversity that is their great city’s hallmark. That most New Yorkers join in rejecting the hostility and bigotry of the few. Saying that would have had two values. First, it’s true. Of course there are pockets of bigotry, as in every large city. But if anti-Muslim bigotry dominated the five boroughs, Mr. Mamdani, a proud Muslim, wouldn’t have come from obscurity to national prominence. Second, it would have been a show of confidence and put him firmly on the offense. Instead, he looks pinched and small, defensive and irate.”

The legendary GOP operative doubled down on Fox, arguing:

I was shocked. Here’s the moment that he ought to be trying to unite the city, and instead he says, “I made a mistake to think that I could be a candidate who called upon the city to unite.” He talked about, you know, Muslim teachers and police who make daily sacrifices. “Their leaders spit on them,” he says. Islamophobia is, quote, “one of the few areas of agreement among my opponents in the city.” I mean, it’s like this guy went out of his way to say that a lot of-, it was sort of like Hillary Clinton and you know the deplorables, the city is full of bigots, and he as a Muslim feels this intensely. Well, if that were true, he would not have won the Democratic nomination. If the five boroughs are hotbeds of bigotry, sure, there are bigots in any city. But the idea that New York is, you know, beset by Islamophobia, I thought was a very poor note to end on.

Watch above via Fox News.

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