Washington, July 24 (IANS) Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has sharply escalated his attacks on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying the Democratic mayor would eventually do something “stupid” enough to be “sent to Gitmo”, invoking the US military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay as political rhetoric in an increasingly polarised national debate over immigration, socialism and the direction of American politics.
Tuberville, an Alabama Republican who earlier this year secured his party’s nomination for governor, made the remarks during an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson while criticising Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has emerged as one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent progressive figures.
“It’s amazing me, we allow a guy to come in this country just a few years ago… For some reason, we have enough people in New York that would vote for this guy to run the largest and the most popular city in the world,” Tuberville said.
He added: “He will, sooner or later, he will do something more stupid than what he’s done to where we’ll finally say, enough’s enough. Go put handcuffs on him and get him the hell outta here… And send him to Gitmo, because the guy hates this country.”
Tuberville also accused Mamdani of wanting “to change” the United States, adding: “It is not gonna happen. We’re not gonna allow him, just because he’s mayor of New York, to be able to change our Constitution and everything that we believe in.”
The Alabama senator’s comments came in response to Johnson’s criticism of Mamdani over immigration, foreign policy and recent political positions.
During the exchange, Johnson questioned why the mayor had not been “deport(ed)” and suggested he should be “sent to Gitmo”, referring to the US naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where military detention facilities have housed terrorism suspects. Tuberville echoed that suggestion in his response.
Tuberville has previously targeted Mamdani in public statements. Earlier this year, he faced criticism after linking the mayor’s Ramadan iftar event at New York City Hall with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. California Governor Gavin Newsom responded by calling the Alabama senator “a racist piece of s—”, according to The Hill.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, rose to national prominence after defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Within the past year, he has become one of the Democratic Party’s most recognisable progressive leaders.
His emergence has coincided with broader electoral gains by democratic socialist candidates in places including New York, Los Angeles, Colorado and Washington, D.C. Republicans have increasingly sought to portray those victories as evidence of a broader ideological shift within the Democratic Party ahead of the US midterm elections.
Tuberville, a former college football coach who has represented Alabama in the Senate since 2021, is now the Republican nominee for governor in the traditionally conservative southern state.
–IANS
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