From Derangement To Democratic Socialism

Two ugly faces of the Democrat Party were on full display last week: The traditional old-school types who continued to promote an anti-Trump message with every breath and the modern members of the Mamdani/Sanders/AOC alliance who took New York City House seats by storm, executing a clean sweep.

On Sunday, June 21, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker appeared as the lead guest in a nearly 14-minute-long interview with substitute host Garrett Haake on NBC's Meet the Press. Such a prime slot is usually reserved for someone who won a party's nomination. And Booker appeared all too eager to deliver an anti-Trump message.

On the Iran Memorandum of Understanding, Booker was unsparing, calling it an "abject surrender" and rejecting outright any suggestion that Trump deserved credit for ending the conflict.

His analogy was memorable: "That's like giving somebody credit for literally an arsonist starting a fire and getting credit for running out of the burning building." He argued that Iran walked away with billions in economic relief, and America had absorbed the staggering costs of a war Trump himself initiated. He added that Iran was now openly mocking the United States and that Trump was "perhaps on the world stage right now the biggest loser with egg on his face."

The interviewer let Booker go on and on, not once questioning him if Trump's war actions were justified when Iran's Air Force and Navy were destroyed, and the top two tiers of leadership had been eliminated. Iran's regime mercilessly killed thousands of its own people in crushing this winter's protests, by some estimates close to 30,000, so would Trump's attacks be worthwhile from a human rights perspective?

Perhaps the interview's most striking moment came when Booker was asked about Israel's reliability as a peace partner. He did not hold back: "Between Israel and America, we have two criminal presidents" — pointing to Trump's criminal convictions and the Israeli Prime Minister's own legal troubles — and said flatly that he "cannot wait until they are both off the world stage."

While it is true that Netanyahu is seeking re-election, the American midterms have no direct impact on Trump's second term. Even if the Democrats take the House and pass articles of impeachment, the Senate would never convict Trump, given the 67-vote threshold, and the more MAGA composition of a future Republican Senate.

Trump has been brilliant in his political strategy by cleansing the Senate GOP of anti-Trumpers. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) will not be serving in the next Congress, having both lost their respective GOP primaries. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the longtime Senate Republican Leader, frequently clashed with Trump over institutional norms, the events of January 6, and strategy. He announced his retirement and will not be serving in the 120th Congress. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), a key Trump antagonist, is not running for re-election.

The Constitution forbids Trump from running again in 2028. So what was Booker referring to when he said he wanted Trump off the world stage? It was loose language at a moment when there have been at least three assassination attempts against Trump's life. Booker surely meant no such thing, but a Tim Russert as MTP moderator would have stopped him: "Senator, what exactly do you mean by that?"

On the midterms, Booker was laser-focused, framing November as a moral referendum — "not left or right, but right or wrong." He described Trump repeatedly as "chaotic, corrupt, and cruel," said NATO and Middle East allies alike view the President as "a danger to the world," and called on congressional Republicans to answer for giving Trump unchecked authority from the war's outset. "Shame on Congress," he said pointedly.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Democratic primaries for U.S. House seats saw a clean sweep by three candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani (a democratic socialist).

Brad Lander (former city comptroller) defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in NY-10. Darializa Avila Chevalier (activist and Ph.D. student) ousted five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NY-13. Claire Valdez (state assemblymember and union organizer) won NY-7 against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. All three advanced in safely Democratic districts and are expected to reach Congress.

Valdez and Chevalier are self-described democratic socialists aligned with Mamdani's agenda of taxing the wealthy, expanding housing and social programs, immigrant protections, and criticizing U.S. foreign policy.

On Israel-Palestine, their positions stand out as among the furthest left in the Democratic Party. Victory events featured "Free, free Palestine!" chants. Valdez pledged to "stand up to the genocide" in Gaza and continue advocating "Palestinian liberation." Both Valdez and Chevalier have accused Israel of genocide and apartheid, and have called for ending U.S. complicity.

Chevalier's record is especially stark: she attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square the day after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks (widely condemned for appearing to justify the violence) and has long organized with Columbia's Students for Justice in Palestine. She declined to condemn Hamas's October 7 attack outright, framing it against "75 years of occupation" and ongoing "genocide."

Remarkably, none of these winners harped on an anti-Trump message, the Democratic Party’s hallmark narrative for the last ten years. Even in their victory speeches, no one made more than a passing reference to Trump.

While Lander framed solidarity as the force needed "to vanquish Trump's fascism," the other two largely ignored Trump. Darializa Avila Chevalier's speech emphasized a "new dawn," faith in the future, and rejection of "scraps" from politics. Claire Valdez spoke about affordability, Palestinian issues, and the durability of the Mamdani-backed movement.

Their districts are safe, so all three should be seated by January, and Chevalier and Valdez alone will roughly double the socialist bloc in the House. They won running on rent, taxes, and Gaza, with the President barely a footnote. The energy now belongs to the members who stopped running against him, and it isn't moving back.

Sen. Booker, take note.