Progressives say Mamdani win shows voters ‘fed up with status quo’ as Stephen Miller attempts to blame immigration – live | US news
Mamdani’s victory marks a ‘seismic shift’ with voters who are ‘fed up with the status quo’, says WFP
The Working Families party, which ranked Zohran Mamdani as its top pick for NYC mayor last month, said his victory marks a “seismic shift” and shows that “voters are thoroughly fed up with the status quo”.
In a statement, the progressive organization encouraged the Democratic party to “take note” and “usher in a new era of leadership”.
We showed New York and the entire country that voters are thoroughly fed up with the status quo. To the Democratic Party establishment and the pundits who just want to keep playing the same game — take note. This is a seismic shift. People are ready to turn the page and usher in a new era of leadership.
Key events
Emil Bove denies whistleblower allegations that he willfully ignored court orders blocking deportations
Chris Stein
Emil Bove, a top justice department official who Donald Trump has nominated to serve as a federal appeals court judge, denied to senators a whistleblower’s allegation that he suggested prosecutors ignore court orders blocking the deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Bove is having his confirmation hearing right now before the Senate judiciary committee, where the whistleblower complaint from former justice department attorney Erez Reuveni has come up repeatedly. Reuveni alleges that Bove, a former defense attorney for Trump who now serves as the principal associate deputy attorney general, said the justice department “would need to consider telling the courts ‘fuck you’” when they rule against the president’s immigration policies.
“I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order,” Bove said in questioning from the committee’s Republican chair, Chuck Grassley. “Even if that account is taken at face value, the whistleblower acknowledges that he left the meeting on March 14 of this year with the understanding that, of course, the department would advise clients to abide by court orders.”
The Democrats’ 2024 vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz hasn’t announced yet if he’ll run for a third term as governor in Minnesota, but a new poll shows he could face some trouble.
The Minnesota poll from the Star Tribune/Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication shows Walz’s approval rating has dipped below 50%, only the second time his approval rating has done so in the poll, the Star Tribune reports.
It’s sitting at 49%, a drop from 53% last September. Among independents, a majority disapprove of how he’s doing as governor, and about half say he shouldn’t seek the state’s top position again.
His run for vice-president and positioning as a top Democratic voice nationally has rubbed some the wrong way as well. One Republican voter, age 82, said:
He makes a fool of himself trying to get on the national scene like he’s a big shot.
Top Democrats cautiously congratulate Mamdani on victory
Top Democrats Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries – who are both also New York politicians – have cautiously congratulated Zohran Mamdani on his victory, stopping short of endorsing the progressive and mostly complimenting how he ran his campaign.
Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said in a post on X:
I have known @ZohranKMamdani since we worked together to provide debt relief for thousands of beleaguered taxi drivers & fought to stop a fracked gas plant in Astoria. He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity.
I spoke with @ZohranKMamdani this morning and am looking forward to getting together soon.
And Jeffries, the House minority leader, wrote on X:
Congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on a decisive primary victory. Assemblyman Mamdani ran a strong campaign that relentlessly focused on the economy and bringing down the high cost of living in New York City. We spoke this morning and plan to meet in Central Brooklyn shortly.
Last night New York governor Kathy Hochul sounded similarly lukewarm, posting on X:
Today, voters made their voices heard, demanding a more affordable, more livable New York City. I hear them loud and clear. @ZohranKMamdani built a formidable grassroots coalition, and I look forward to speaking with him in the days ahead about his ideas on how to ensure a safe, affordable, and livable New York City.
Mamdani’s victory marks a ‘seismic shift’ with voters who are ‘fed up with the status quo’, says WFP
The Working Families party, which ranked Zohran Mamdani as its top pick for NYC mayor last month, said his victory marks a “seismic shift” and shows that “voters are thoroughly fed up with the status quo”.
In a statement, the progressive organization encouraged the Democratic party to “take note” and “usher in a new era of leadership”.
We showed New York and the entire country that voters are thoroughly fed up with the status quo. To the Democratic Party establishment and the pundits who just want to keep playing the same game — take note. This is a seismic shift. People are ready to turn the page and usher in a new era of leadership.
Stephen Miller blames Mamdani’s victory in NYC mayoral primary on ‘unchecked migration’
As Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in the New York City mayoral primary last night continues to send the Maga world into meltdown, Stephen Miller has blamed the result on none other than (checks notes) immigration.
In the early hours of this morning, the White House deputy chief of staff and architect of Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, posted on X:
The commentary about NYC Democrats nominating an anarchist-socialist for Mayor omits one point: how unchecked migration fundamentally remade the NYC electorate. Democrats change politics by changing voters. That’s how you turn a city that defined US dominance into what it is now.
In another post, Miller added:
NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration.
An hour later, he went on:
To understand the pace and scope of migration to America in past years, one-third of NYC is foreign-born and almost two-thirds of NYC children live in a foreign-born household.
He is of course alluding to what’s known as the “great replacement theory”, the racist premise that white Americans and Europeans are being actively “replaced” by non-white immigrants, and are losing power and influence as a result (for example, through electoral gains, as Miller claims above). Miller has a long history of touting these far-right views.
Among the many things wrong with Miller is saying is the fact that Mamdani’s victory was based on a much broader coalition than he suggests. The progressive was strong among young voters, including Gen Z and millennials, and won in some mixed Black-Hispanic areas, but per The Hill: “Mamdani was also seen to be stronger with white voters and those with college degrees, the latter of whom increasingly are part of the Democratic base and are regular voters … He also won in some wealthy older white areas.” No word on what Miller thinks of that part, though.
Today so far
It’s been a busy morning, with Trump concluding a meeting with other Nato leaders and reactions to the Zohran Mamdani win in New York City. It’s going to be busy on Capitol Hill today as well, as we’re monitoring a few noteworthy meetings.
Here’s what’s happened so far:
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At the Nato summit, Trump continued claims that the three sites bombed by the US in Iran were obliterated, though intelligence reports have cast doubt on this. He also said he believes the war between Iran and Israel is over, and he plans to meet with Iranian leaders next week.
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He intends to put more tariffs on Spain after the country wouldn’t commit to increasing spending for Nato, like other countries did today.
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Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor in an upset. In a speech to supporters, Mamdani said: “We made history,” adding: “I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City.”
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JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois and a potential 2028 presidential candidate, will seek a third term to run the state.
And here’s what we’re following now:
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Kari Lake is speaking to a House committee this morning about Voice of America.
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Emil Bove, a nominee for a judicial appointment, will be questioned by a Senate committee today.
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A vaccine advisory committee that was recently fully replaced by some vaccine skeptics will meet for the first time today.
Kari Lake says Voice of America broadcasted Trump’s message to Iran during strikes
Joseph Gedeon
Trump adviser Kari Lake told lawmakers that Voice of America was broadcasting the president’s personal message to Iran in Farsi during weekend military strikes.
“I’m very proud to say that when President Trump, when the bombings happened over the weekend, on Saturday, when President Trump started to speak, we had a crew in on Saturday delivering President Trump’s message to the people of Iran in Farsi,” Lake testified to the House Foreign Affairs committee.
The comment suggests VOA – traditionally meant to provide objective news from the American perspective – was being used as a direct conduit for Trump’s political messaging during active military operations.
The testimony comes as the White House authorized the mass termination of 639 employees at VOA on Friday.
Trump plans to hit Spain with increased tariffs, he said at the Nato summit, because the country has not committed to meet the new 5% target commitment that other countries agreed to at the summit.
He said it was “terrible” what Spain had done and that “we’ll make it up” with trade deals.
“We’re negotiating with Spain on a trade deal. We’re going to make them pay twice as much. And I’m actually serious about that … so they want a little bit of a free ride, but they’ll have to pay it back to us on trade, because I’m not going to let that happen. It’s unfair.”
Speaking after the Nato summit, Trump has weighed in on the wars in Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Iran and defended US bombing of three nuclear sites, claiming the sites are obliterated despite intelligence reports that have cast doubt on these claims.
Here’s a sampling of Trump’s comments:
On Israel-Iran, he said he believes the war is over: “I dealt with both, they’re both tired, exhausted. They fought very, very hard and very viciously, very violently, and they were both satisfied to go home and get out. And can it start again? I guess someday, it can. It could maybe start soon.”
On Iran’s nuclear potential: “I don’t see them being back involved in the nuclear business anymore.”
Trump said the US would meet with Iranian officials next week to discuss what happens next, but he didn’t say there needed to be an agreement signed with the country. “The only thing we would be asking for is what we were asking for before, we want no nuclear.”
Trump met with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy while at the summit and said it was a good, friendly meeting. They didn’t discuss a ceasefire, but Trump said it’s clear they want the war to end.
Of the meeting with Zelenskyy, he said: “I think he’d like to see an end to this. I do I think what I took from the meeting couldn’t have been nicer, actually, but I took from the meeting that he’d like to see it end. I think it’s a great time to end it. I’m going to speak to Vladimir Putin see if we can get it ended.”
Trump is now speaking at the Nato summit, detailing his thoughts on the agreement for countries to contribute more to the alliance.
You can watch him live here, or follow the remarks step by step on the Nato liveblog.
He is also talking about the US intervention into the Israel-Iran conflict.
JB Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, will run for a third term as governor, according to the Associated Press, which cites “two people familiar with his plans”.
Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, has worked for years to build national recognition and is often part of a short list of Democrats who could run for president in 2028. Kamala Harris considered him as a running mate in 2024.
Since Trump’s re-election, Pritzker has often spoken out against the administration. It’s not clear if another run for the governorship will take him out of the running for a 2028 presidential race.
Pritzker is expected to announce his run for a third term on Thursday.
US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr told a global vaccine alliance that the US wouldn’t be sending money to help fund its efforts to vaccinate children around the world, according to Politico.
A video speech from Kennedy to the Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance pledging summit took the organization to task for its views on vaccines, claiming the organization didn’t listen to science if it wasn’t aligned with its beliefs. The group, a public-private partnership, says it “helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against deadly and debilitating infectious diseases”.
“I call on Gavi today to re-earn the public trust and to justify the $8bn that America has provided in funding since 2001,” he said, according to Politico. “And I’ll tell you how to start taking vaccine safety seriously: Consider the best science available, even when the science contradicts established paradigms. Until that happens, the United States won’t contribute more to Gavi.”
The video comes after Kennedy faced a grilling Tuesday in the House health subcommittee, including over his firing of the entire vaccine advisory committee. That committee is set to meet today for the first time since Kennedy fired and then replaced it with members who are skeptical of vaccines.
Trump confirms US commitment to Nato at annual summit
At the Nato summit today, Donald Trump confirmed the US is committed to Nato, despite his frequent criticisms of other countries and how much they pay for defense.
As he made his way to the summit, he wouldn’t say whether he supported Article 5, the cornerstone of the Nato alliance that calls for mutual defense of members.
But, according to Reuters, he said at the summit: “I stand with Article 5.”
Trump is expected to speak in a press conference from the summit soon. To follow the play-by-play of the Nato summit, check out our liveblog from the event.
Joanna Walters
David Hogg, the recently-ousted young vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, whose vow to unseat “asleep at the wheel” old school Democrats roiled his party, has celebrated Andrew Cuomo’s besting by Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary last night.
“Cuomo. Is. Cooked,” he posted on X.
Then followed up with: “And so is the establishment that brought us here. It’s gonna be a fun next couple years.”
Hogg rose to prominence as a gun-control activist after surviving the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and was elected in February as one of five officials – and the first gen-Z member – to serve as vice-chair of the DNC.
As part of his drive to reform the party, Hogg announced plans to spend millions of dollars to unseat what he regarded as played-out establishment Democrats in safely blue districts through Leaders We Deserve, a separate political organization that he founded and leads. Few Democrats disagree with the need for change but leadership balked at Hogg’s rebellious tactics. He’s now clearly feeling vindicated.
And here’s our colleague Lauren Gambino’s interview with Hogg last month.
Trump praises Nato states as summit prepares to lift defence spending target
Dan Sabbagh
Donald Trump praised Nato countries for being willing to lift defence spending to 5% in his first public remarks at the military alliance’s annual summit, and said that he expected the US to be fully in support.
The president was speaking at a preliminary press conference in The Hague that was dominated by his rejection of overnight reports that Iran’s nuclear sites were not destroyed in US bombing, and where he was also praised by the Nato chief, Mark Rutte, for being the “daddy”.
Asked about Nato before a morning plenary session of the leaders of all 32 Nato countries, where they will sign off on the spending increase, Trump said: “We’re with them all the way. They have very big things to announce today.
“I’ve been asking to go up to 5% for a number of years and they’re going up to 5%, from 2%, and a lot of people didn’t even pay the 2%. I think that’s going to be very big news. Nato’s going to become very strong with us.”
Under the new plan, Nato members will commit to lifting defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, of which 3.5% is core military spending and the rest is infrastructure, intelligence, cybersecurity and other spending allies can already match.
Read the full report here:
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