# Zohran Mamdani

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Zohran Mamdani," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/zohran-mamdani/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's assessment of the New York mayoral candidate in September 2025, a smart young man running a very good campaign, surrounding himself with older seasoned New Yorkers rather than going in like a bull in a china shop, and gaining rather than losing ground the more the establishment attacked him.*

- **Position at the time:** Democratic nominee for mayor of New York, polling 38.2%
- **Kiriakou''s assessment:** 'He seems like a really smart young man'
- **On his advisers:** 'Older seasoned New Yorkers who are going to hold his hand… and tell him how things work'
- **On his approach:** 'I don''t think he''s just going to go in there like a bull in a china shop'
- **On the campaign:** 'He''s been running a great campaign'
- **On the establishment effort against him:** Counterproductive, 'it''s just blowback'
- **On the antisemitism charge:** New York''s Jewish voters 'know what he''s about' and are voting for him anyway

**Zohran Mamdani** is the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York whose position [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) assessed in September 2025, while a plan was circulating to clear the field against him by [sending Eric Adams to Riyadh](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-eric-adams-ambassadorship).[1]

## Why he thought the effort would fail

Mamdani was polling at 38.2%, well clear of Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, and rising. He had already reached the maximum campaign contributions permitted, *"people are throwing so much money at him"*, and *"it's hard to see how he loses at this stage."*[2][3]

The attacks, in Kiriakou's reading, were feeding him: *"the more that they pay attention to him, the more that people like him in New York."* He called the establishment manoeuvring *"counterproductive"* and *"just blowback."*[3][4]

He also noted that the confident predictions after the primary had not held. Voices in the centre and on the right had said the result was *"a fluke. It's temporary… everybody's going to coalesce around Cuomo and the DNC is going to live happily ever after."* It was not happening.[5]

## How he expected him to govern

Put to him that the Republican Party intended to make Mamdani its foil for the next four years, Kiriakou was doubtful, *"I wouldn't be so sure it's going to work."*[6]

His reason was the character of the operation rather than the politics. *"He seems like a really smart young man"* who is *"surrounding himself with some older seasoned New Yorkers who are going to hold his hand over at Gracie Mansion and at city hall, and they're going to tell him how things work. And I don't think he's just going to go in there like a bull in a china shop."* His verdict on the campaign itself: *"he's been running a great campaign."*[6]

## On the antisemitism charge

Kiriakou dismissed the claim that Mamdani posed a danger to Jewish New Yorkers, and rested the dismissal on the voters rather than on the candidate's assurances: *"New York voters, many of whom are Jewish, are voting for him, and they know, they know what he's about."*[7]

## The Netanyahu-arrest question

In September 2026 [Zohran Mamdani](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/zohran-mamdani) reiterated the campaign pledge to arrest [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/benjamin-netanyahu) on the [International Criminal Court](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/international-criminal-court) warrant if the Israeli prime minister arrived in New York for the UN General Assembly, saying he would use *"whatever the law allows me to do in New York City"*. Kiriakou's own reading was that Mamdani would not, in fact, order the arrest, the U.S. does not recognise the ICC, the UN Headquarters Agreement grants visiting heads of government protection, and head-of-state immunity applies, but that the point of the exercise was public discourse: *"Americans should be talking about whether or not Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal."*[8][9][10]

He noted the irony he did not press: the Trump administration's UN ambassador [Mike Waltz](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/mike-waltz) invoked *"head of state immunity"* on Netanyahu's behalf after the same administration *"broke into [Nicolás Maduro](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/maduro-capture)'s home and kidnapped the Venezuelan president in the middle of the night and arrested him on drug charges."*[11][12]

## See also

- [The Eric Adams ambassadorship](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-eric-adams-ambassadorship)
- [Donald Trump](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/donald-trump)
- [Democratic Party 2025 Political Snapshot](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/democratic-party-2025-approval-decline)
- [Bernie Sanders](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bernie-sanders)
- [Abdul El-Sayed](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/abdul-el-sayed)

## Sources

1. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-09-06), at 02:35. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_K7Ab0PsdM&t=155s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
2. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-09-06), at 03:08. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_K7Ab0PsdM&t=188s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
3. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-09-06), at 07:52. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_K7Ab0PsdM&t=472s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
4. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-09-06), at 08:23. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_K7Ab0PsdM&t=503s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
5. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-09-06), at 17:13. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_K7Ab0PsdM&t=1033s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
6. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-09-06), at 16:39. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_K7Ab0PsdM&t=999s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
7. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-09-06), at 17:45. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_K7Ab0PsdM&t=1065s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-09-06-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
8. This is Why Iran's Missiles Will Keep Coming | Ep. 3 (2026-07-21), at 22:53. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRAo0eDnK0&t=1373s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-21-john-kiriakou-this-is-why-iran-s-missiles-will/
9. This is Why Iran's Missiles Will Keep Coming | Ep. 3 (2026-07-21), at 25:28. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRAo0eDnK0&t=1528s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-21-john-kiriakou-this-is-why-iran-s-missiles-will/
10. This is Why Iran's Missiles Will Keep Coming | Ep. 3 (2026-07-21), at 26:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRAo0eDnK0&t=1560s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-21-john-kiriakou-this-is-why-iran-s-missiles-will/
11. This is Why Iran's Missiles Will Keep Coming | Ep. 3 (2026-07-21), at 26:32. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRAo0eDnK0&t=1592s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-21-john-kiriakou-this-is-why-iran-s-missiles-will/
12. This is Why Iran's Missiles Will Keep Coming | Ep. 3 (2026-07-21), at 27:04. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkRAo0eDnK0&t=1624s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-21-john-kiriakou-this-is-why-iran-s-missiles-will/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/zohran-mamdani/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt