During an interview aired on Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Story Is,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) responded to Darializa Avila Chevalier’s prior far left statements by saying that her views aren’t within the Democratic Party’s mainstream or reflective of the whole party and he’s not sure that her win is a nationwide trend. He also said that “There was a lot of fear when AOC first ran for office that she was going to be this dangerous influence. She’s been a great member of Congress, she has been articulate and forceful and made a profound case for change. So, I’m not afraid of new members or new ideas in the party. I welcome it.”
Host Elex Michaelson asked, “Let’s talk about the Democratic Party. And it’s an interesting moment and sort of a question now in terms of where the party goes. We just saw elections in New York last week, with Democratic Socialists doing very well. We’ve heard about Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is a Democratic Socialist who won. Some of her tweets have come to light, some of her older tweets, a since-deleted Twitter account where she has sympathetic references to Communism, talks about a Marxist ideology, talks about seizing the means of production, abolish police, prisons, and borders, wiping her hands on a U.S. flag, she now says, quote, ‘I have grown considerably in the years since these tweets, and I am focused on our community and our community’s future.’ Which is not exactly disowning the comments. What do you make of these comments and the fact that this is a growing brand of the Democratic Party?”
Schiff began by answering, “I wouldn’t say that those comments are reflective of a growing brand in the party. I understand that she has advocated closing all prisons, defunding police departments, opening borders, none of those views are within the mainstream of the Democratic Party.”
Schiff added that it’s likely Chevalier will be elected to Congress, but “That doesn’t mean that she’s reflective of the whole party. You also saw some very centrist wins in primaries. We had a centrist win in Iowa in the primary, we had a centrist win in the governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia. All that is to say, it’s hard to extrapolate from one campaign or even three in New York City and say this is a nationwide trend. But I will say this, it is reflective, among other things, of the power of Mamdani, of Mayor Mamdani. I think he is an incredibly charismatic leader, I think he is inspiring New Yorkers and winning people over and has enormous clout in New York. There was a lot of fear when AOC first ran for office that she was going to be this dangerous influence. She’s been a great member of Congress, she has been articulate and forceful and made a profound case for change. So, I’m not afraid of new members or new ideas in the party. I welcome it. One thing, though, I think, is an absolute takeaway, in these races, as in others, and that is the status quo is just deeply unacceptable to the American people and they’re looking for change agents.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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