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Jon Stewart presses Mamdani on where he breaks with fellow Democratic socialists on prisons and borders

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026, in New York City.
Months after being inaugurated himself, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been credited for ushering in a new wave of democratic socialists behind him. Getty Images

Jon Stewart argued order and security for society are progressive values, pressing Zohran Mamdani on where he breaks from fellow Democratic socialists.

Talk show host Jon Stewart asked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani where he disagrees with fellow Democratic socialists who are rising in the Democratic Party during a Wednesday episode of his podcast, "The Weekly Show."

Stewart, who has long been a fixture of centrist Democratic Party politics, noted on his show that times have changed, in that "now Democratic socialism is considered the hottest trend in the Democratic Party and there's grassroots energy and all — and these Democratic socialist candidates are popping up, and you're having to answer for every one of their policy positions."

"Look, maybe I'm an old man or a s--- lib or whatever they want to call me," Stewart said. "If someone says we're going to abolish all prisons and borders, like I do go, ‘I don't think that's a good idea.’ Like, it feels like order and security is also a progressive value. Why shouldn't people in neighborhoods with less resources have the same safety and security that neighborhoods with lots of resources?"

He then proceeded to ask Mamdani, "So are there tenets of those that are kind of following in the wake of Zohran Mamdani's success that you're not comfortable with or that give you pause?"

Mamdani replied, "If you have more than one socialist in a room and there isn't disagreement, then you don't have more than one socialist in a room."

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Mamdani went on to say he is perfectly comfortable with such discussions, so long as they are productive.

"Well, I'm comfortable with disagreement, and I'm comfortable with disagreement that doesn't end the conversation entirely, because I think what motivates a lot of people is, ‘How do you deliver public safety?" Mamdani said. "And the thing that I've said time and again is, ‘We cannot have New Yorkers choose between safety and justice.’"

Jon Stewart speaking at 2025 event
Comedy Central host Jon Stewart asked NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani to tell him where he disagrees with his fellow democratic socialists. Getty Images

"And yes, I am, you know, doing the work with our police department, and we have been able to deliver the lowest number of murders and shootings in recorded history," Mamdani touted. "And at the same time, I'm doing the work to close down Riker's Island and ensure that we are actually building the four smaller borough-based jails that brings an end to a horrible chapter in New York City history ."

Mamdani went on to agree that one’s safety should not depend on how upscale their neighborhood is.

"I think, to your point, you know, when we're thinking about safety, there cannot be a hierarchy of safety where you experience it more or less depending on where you live in our city, or how much money is in your pocket," Mamdani said. "And there also can't be a definition of safety that is purely after the fact, meaning that how you respond to violence. We also have to do the work of investing so that we prevent violence."

Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a rally in New York alongside 1199SEIU members and immigration advocates after the Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration can revoke protections for Haitians and Syrians.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani noted that, "The thing that I've said time and again is ‘We cannot have New Yorkers choose between safety and justice.’" Getty Images

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Original article source: Jon Stewart presses Mamdani on where he breaks with fellow Democratic socialists on prisons and borders

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