After losing his primary last June to a pro-Israel Democrat, now Rep. George Latimer, former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who belonged to the far-left Squad, has spent part of his post-Congress career doing appearances on CNN. As Leah covered, his Thursday night appearance on "CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip," has people calling for Elon Musk to sue the former congressman after he called him a "thief" and a "Nazi," an idea Musk may be coming around to. That wasn't his only noteworthy moment, as he also had quite the exchange against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY).
Early on, the show featured a segment discussing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a founding member of the Squad who has become something of a leader within a party in disarray.
A clip of AOC was played, in which she declared, "This isn't just about Republicans. We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us, too. But what that means is that we, as our as a community, must choose and vote for Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand for the working class. I want you to look at every level of office around and support brawlers who fight because those are the ones who can actually win against Republicans. Let's be real about that." Bowman affirmed for host Abby Phillip that he "100 percent" and "absolutely" agrees with such a message, as "Democrats are in a crisis right now."
One of the issues he brought up, before bringing up other far-left politicians he supports, was how Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) caved and voted to advance the continuing resolution (CR) rather than shut down the government.
"It's about the people rising up and holding the parties accountable. Democrats have fighters -- Jasmine Crockett, AOC, Ayanna Presley, the whole squad, Greg Casar, Pramila Jayapal, and governors and mayors across the country are fighters," he added. "But we need some of the OGs in the party to elevate, uplift the younger people and take a step back." He also mentioned that "we need to hear new, fresh, bold voices," claiming that "that's what the American people want. And if we don't--and if the party doesn't do that, the party is about to be finished."
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The mention of such leftist members of Congress prompted a response from Lawler, though Bowman was none too pleased with his point and rushed to cut him off.
"I hope that AOC, Pramila Jayapal, Greg Casar--I hope they're the new face of the Democratic Party, because Republicans will be winning elections all over the country, if that is the case in the Democratic Party."
With laughter, Bowman cut Lawler off to ask, "what?!" He also added, "are you crazy?!"
"Are you?" Lawler retorted back with, leading to a further back and forth. "Listen a district like mine that Joe Biden won by 10 points, okay, 10 points. Kamala Harris won by half a point," Lawler pointed out. "Okay? I won by six and a half points, 24,000 votes in a district that has 85,000 more Democrats than Republicans. Why?"
Lawler represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which he first won in 2022, after defeating then Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who was actually serving as the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) at the time of his loss. Although he was once seen as not having much of a chance, the race became a "Toss-Up," and Lawler ended up pulling off a win. While 2022 brought him a narrow win, he won by over 6 points last November.
Such a point about then Vice President Kamala Harris winning his district by half a point is also part of a bigger picture, in that Harris won New York and several other blue states by much more narrow margins than President Joe Biden did in 2020.
Phillip stepped in to point out that Lawler was right, before the current congressman and former one got into it further. As Bowman tried to dismiss Lawler's opponent, former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones, a Squad member who once represented the 16th Congressional District, as a "coin ball candidate," they got into it a bit further from there, as Bowman denied that the fellow former Squad member was his friend.
After Lawler actually agreed with Bowman on something, which is that he was running against someone "who was not a strong candidate," he further cut Lawler off to change the subject, even as Lawler tried to insist he was missing the point. "We still have consultants and big money controlling the Democratic Party," Bowman ranted.
Phillip tried to get a word in edgewise, pointing out how "AOC... outperformed Kamala Harris in her district," a fact the congresswoman was aware of and not too happy about, before the crosstalk continued.
When he was able to speak, Lawler pointed to serious issues plaguing the state. "Look no further than New York, where issues like cashless bail have been a disaster. Issues like sanctuary state status, congestion pricing. In districts like mine, where Democrats on paper should win big, they're losing," he pointed out. He then brought the conversation back to the point he was trying to make in the first place.
"And so, if the messenger is AOC, who by the way was originally from my district, she grew up in Yorktown, not The Bronx. If AOC is the face of the Democratic Party in swing districts all across this country, she will mobilize voters way more than Nancy Pelosi ever did for the Republicans," Lawler offered.
Rep. Lawler: I hope these radicals like AOC are the future face of the Democratic Party.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 21, 2025
Democrat Jamaal Bowman: Are you insane?! pic.twitter.com/5ieLDeNEUW
Indeed, the Democratic Party is experiencing record lows, as polls this year and even last week have shown. An open-ended question from CNN's own poll showed that beyond the 30 percent who gave an answer with no person mentioned, AOC got the highest amount of support among Democratic respondents when asked who "best reflects the core values" of the party, with 10 percent saying so.
It may also be relevant that Lawler is considering running for governor, especially as he brought up problems plaguing the entire state. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is performing particularly poorly in the polls when it comes to her approval and favorable ratings, and as we covered at the time, a poll released in January from Morning Consult had her as one of the country's most unpopular governors running for reelection in 2026.
It's no secret that I'm looking at a run for Governor of New York State - Kathy Hochul is the most feckless, incompetent Governor in decades, and our state deserves better. pic.twitter.com/Nc7kIdnnrk
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) January 17, 2025
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