On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” Brad Lander discussed his primary win over Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), which he stated “says Democratic voters want to reset the U.S. relationship with Israel,” and said he’s unsure Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) “is in our party any more, to be honest.”
Lander began by saying that Democratic voters “want leaders who are going to fight, not just Donald Trump, but the billionaires who are rigging the economy against us. And that’s what I think tonight’s election is about.”
He added that the candidates who have won prior primaries are progressive candidates “who say we want to see a Democratic Party that’s fighting harder. We shouldn’t be taking corporate PAC money from Wall Street and crypto and AI and AIPAC, we’ve got to fight harder for working families and have people see us fighting for them, and we have to reset the U.S. relationship with Israel.”
Lander further stated that he’s running against “a corporate incumbent Democrat to say voters want change on a range of issues, on corporate money, on fighting, on housing, and healthcare, and yes, on not sending any more money for Netanyahu’s wars.”
He added that the issue isn’t really progressive versus moderate, it’s “fighters and folders.”
Host Kaitlan Collins then asked, “So when Fetterman calls your wing of the party the dirtbag left, you’re saying he’s wrong?”
Lander answered, “I’m not sure if Fetterman is in our party any more, to be honest. Democrats are having primaries to determine what kind of candidates we want to put on the field, and there’ll be a diverse array of candidates because they reflect and represent a diverse array of districts. Primaries are a time to have those fights out, and then, as we head toward the fall, it’s a time of unity. I will try to be a force of unity. I hope Sen. Fetterman will stop attacking other Democrats and decide to rejoin the fold, but if he wants to leave the party, we’ve got a lot of great fighters who can show up and fight for working families.”
Later, after CNN called the race for Lander, Collins asked, “What do you think it says about the Democratic Party tonight?”
Lander answered, “Look, I think it says people want fighters, they want people who reject corporate PAC money from private equity, Wall Street and crypto and AIPAC, it wants people who center the real felt needs of working families and go out and fight and deliver for them, like I’ve been doing for 30 years, protecting tenants and building affordable housing. And I do think it says Democratic voters want to reset the U.S. relationship with Israel, they don’t want a foreign policy that compromises on anyone’s humanity.”
Collins then asked, “Do you think that’s become a litmus test in your party, to a degree?”
Lander responded, “Well, I don’t know that it’s a litmus test. There’s still a majority of Democratic members of Congress who take money from AIPAC, and a majority of Democrats, in the House at least, have continued to vote for military aid. I think it says Democratic voters want to see that change.”
Collins then asked, “Do you agree with how Mayor Mamdani (D) described AIPAC when he was out on the campaign trail?”
Lander responded, “Look, there are voters who have a lot of concerns with AIPAC and the way, but it’s — that’s true of other super PACs as well, that spend money in dark ways, that don’t even talk clearly about the issues that they’re focused on. So, it was an important part of my campaign. At the same time, like, I’m a proud Jewish New Yorker. Antisemitism is surging. It is important for us to be clear that the Democratic Party is not going to compromise on anyone’s human rights, not Palestinians in Gaza, and not Jews in New York City or the United States of America, like, that’s not two separate jobs. That’s the same job.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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