Mayor Zohran Mamdani gushed Tuesday that he’s “excited” about fellow Democratic Socialists of America diehard Darializa Avila Chevalier — waving off the score of inflammatory social media posts that emerged after he endorsed her congressional run.
Mamdani, speaking to reporters at an unrelated event in Queens, cast Avila Chevalier’s scorched-earth online presence as not reflective of her current, still-abashedly progressive views.
“I’m excited at the focus on Darializa’s campaign in that it brings to light the possibility of electing a champion for working people,” Mamdani told reporters at an unrelated event in Queens.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to distance himself from a controversial far-left US House candidate — despite a slew of inflammatory social media posts emerging after his endorsement. SARAH YENESEL/EPA/Shutterstock“I think that what we are seeing is a real groundswell of excitement around that same candidacy… I’m excited to help be a part of that.”
The enthusiastic re-endorsement stood in contrast to the still-unfolding backlash to Avila Chevalier that Mamdani inadvertently helped trigger when he announced last week he’d support her over Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-New York) in the upcoming Democratic primary.
Many Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, lined up behind Espaillat after Mamdani’s shock endorsement – fueling chatter about a civil war between establishment pols and socialists within the state’s Democratic Party.
Even state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), an often-bitter foe of Espaillat, said Tuesday that he would be backing the sitting congressman over the DSA-backed Avila Chevalier in June 23’s Democratic primary.
America Darializa Avila Chevalier, a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America, was mentioned by Mamdani while speaking to reporters in Queens. X / @DarializaforNYHe said he spoke with Mamdani about the mayor’s decision to walk back a promised endorsement of Espaillat.
“I disagree with the mayor,” Heastie told reporters. “I support Congressman Espaillat.”
Mamdani’s endorsement exposed Avila Chevalier to a heightened wave of scrutiny that quickly exposed the candidate’s long trail of social media posts in which she attacked her own party — calling President Biden a “rapist” and mocking Hillary Clinton – and much more.
In a statement, Mamdani said, “I’m excited at the focus on Darializa’s campaign in that it brings to light the possibility of electing a champion for working people.” X / @DarializaforNYAvila Chevalier had blasted fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and her DSA comrade Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt., slammed police and attacked the US as a “f–king disgrace,” the since-deleted posts reveal.
Other posts show she had claimed “Israel doesn’t exist,” advocated for a world without borders “just like a world without prisons or police” and called to cut the US defense budget to $0.
Avila Chevalier, in response to a CNN report detailing some of her posts, accused Espaillat of trying to distract voters in the 13th House District covering most of Upper Manhattan and the west Bronx.
A civil war could emerge among local Democrats as Gov. Hochul and state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie are backing Rep. Adriano Espaillat over Chevalier in the June 23 Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District.
“He is re-litigating social media posts from half a decade ago, and continuing to champion an outdated politics that fails to serve our people,” she said of her opponent.
“I have grown considerably since in the years since these tweets, and I am focused on our community and our community’s future.”
Mamdani echoed Avila Chevalier’s argument that the opinions she passionately expressed five years ago didn’t reflect her current views, without going into detail on which specific positions she’d since disavowed.
“She said herself that a lot of these don’t reflect her views today, and I’m incredibly excited to be supporting her today and her vision,” he said when pressed on the content of her posts.
– Additional reporting by Vaughn Golden
