‘I’m Answering Your Question!’ House Democrat Gets Heated With Fox News Anchor Over Mamdani

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) got testy with Fox News Sunday anchor Shannon Bream after she asked him about the state of the Democratic Party.

The interview began with a discussion on foreign policy before Bream pivoted to congressional Democrats’ approval rating and also Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory last month in the New York Democratic mayoral primary. Mamdani, a state assemblyman who is a Muslim and self-described Democratic socialist, defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned from office in 2021 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. Cuomo has since announced he will mount a third-party challenge in the general election.

“I want to ask you about your party back here at home,” Bream told Smith. “Some tough poll numbers this week, 19% of voters are giving Democrats in Congress approval, according to Quinnipiac. Seventy-two disapprove, and there is an ongoing conversation about, what is the party? Who’s leading the party?”

She then pivoted to Mamdani and asked Smith, “What do you make of his candidacy?”

“Well, look, the mayor of New York has never, ever, ever, been the leader of the Democratic Party,” the congressman replied. “What we need to focus on is the message.”

Smith went on to slam Republicans for passing a spending bill that adds more than $3 trillion to the national debt.

“We are cutting off food programs,” he said of the Republican-controlled Congress. “We are cutting off healthcare programs in that recissions package. Small amount of money. We are literally starving people to death based on programs we promised them, and–”

Bream interrupted to ask, “But do you have worries about Mamdani? At least the optics–”

“I’m answering your question!” Smith thundered. “No, Mamdani isn’t speaking for our party any more than I’m speaking for our party. It’s a bit tent. It’s a big coalition. Yes, Fox News wants to focus on that. But let’s focus on the fact that Trump is now underwater on immigration.”

The lawmaker later added, “We Democrats have a message and we have a message to deliver. And I’ll tell you this. The mayor of New York, no matter who he is, is not gonna be the leader of our party. So we need to stay focused on those issues.”

Watch above via Fox News.