Vance denies rising antisemitism in Republican ranks, expresses admiration for Mamdani

US Vice President JD Vance rejects the notion that his Republican Party is experiencing an uptick in antisemitism.

“Judging anybody based on their skin color or immutable characteristics, I think, is fundamentally anti-American and anti-Christian,” Vance says in an interview with NBC News. “I do think it’s important to call this stuff out when I see it. [But] when I talk to young conservatives, I don’t see some simmering antisemitism that’s exploding.”

Vance’s former Republican colleague in the Senate, Ted Cruz has argued otherwise, warning about an escalation of anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment, particularly among young conservatives influenced by Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes.

“Do I think that the Republican Party is substantially more antisemitic than it was 10 or 15 years ago? Absolutely not,” Vance says. “In any bunch of apples, you have bad people. We should be firm in saying antisemitism and racism is wrong… [but] I think it’s kind of slanderous to say that the Republican Party, the conservative movement, is extremely antisemitic.”

Later in the interview, Vance volunteered the names of the progressives lawmakers he has come to respect for various reasons: Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Ro Khanna and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

Vance describes Mamdani, who had a friendly meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House last month, as “fascinating.”

“Obviously, I’m not a communist, but the fact that he focuses so aggressively on the affordability question in New York City, which does have one of the worst affordability crises anywhere in the world, is smart, and he’s at least listening to people,” Vance says.

“Most politicians, it’s a very low bar, but they don’t even listen to people. I would put Mamdani, Bernie and Ro Khanna in the category of those who, at least sometimes, they are,” he adds.