Senator Ted Cruz Calls NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani ‘the Single Most Powerful Democrat in the Country’

While speaking at the Energy Affordability Summit in Columbus, Ohio, September 3, Texas Senator Ted Cruz gave his take on power dynamics in politics at the moment.

The event was hosted by Arnold Ventures (led by billionaire philanthropists John and Laura Arnold) and Club for Growth, a conservative political action committee, or PAC, which helped raise money for Cruz’s campaigns in the past.

Cruz, 55, was interviewed by Club for Growth CEO David McIntosh, and their conversation specifically focused on permitting reform in the energy sector. The senator said he was not optimistic “that a permitting reform deal is going to be reached between now and election day” and went on to explain that Democrats in congress, in his view, are “not necessarily looking to cut a deal.”

Cruz speculated that bipartisan agreement has been more difficult because the Democratic party has leaned more progressive in recent years. He claimed that Democrats “are terrified” of the “Marxists and Islamists” in their party, “Because that’s where the energy is in their party, that’s where the power is, that’s where the money is; it’s where the young people are.”

Cruz then went on talk about the influence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is part of the Democratic Socialists of America and is also Muslim. “I think Mamdani is the single most powerful Democrat in the country,” Cruz said. As mayor of New York City, and not a member of congress, Mamdani, 34, would not vote on the permitting reform deal being discussed.