Two influential Democrats with deep ties to the Clinton and Obama administrations publicly broke with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week, criticizing both his controversial tax proposal and his positions on Israel. Former Clinton adviser Mark Penn blasted the mayor’s property tax plan, while former Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel revealed details of what he said was a private confrontation with Mamdani over Israel.

The criticism is especially significant because it comes from longtime Democratic power brokers rather than Republican critics, targeting two issues that have become central to Mamdani’s political identity: his progressive economic agenda and his views on Israel.

Fox News Digital reached out to Penn, Emanuel and Mamdani’s office seeking comment.

Penn, a veteran Democratic strategist who served as a pollster and adviser to President Bill Clinton, sharply criticized Mamdani’s proposed pied-à-terre tax after the city released a searchable database identifying property owners who could be affected.

Writing in a lengthy post on X, Penn argued that the city’s property valuation system had expanded the proposal far beyond what had originally been presented, saying nearly one million property owners could now be swept into the tax instead of the approximately 30,000 luxury homeowners previously described as the intended targets.

“The $5 million figure was a fake,” Penn wrote, arguing the city’s valuation system had improperly classified properties and would force homeowners to prove they should not be taxed.

Penn also warned that the proposal could drive down property values, discourage investment in New York City and even invite constitutional challenges.

Meanwhile, Emanuel said during an appearance on the Unholy Podcast that he spent roughly 90 minutes meeting privately with Mamdani, where he challenged the mayor over his rhetoric concerning Israel.

Although Emanuel said he supported portions of Mamdani’s domestic agenda, including his childcare proposals, he objected to the mayor’s past use of the slogan “from the river to the sea.”

“I know where there’s a line. You don’t,” Emanuel recalled telling Mamdani.

Emanuel argued that both calls for a “Greater Israel” and the slogan “from the river to the sea” would only fuel “perpetual conflict.”

After Emanuel’s comments spread online, Mamdani communications director Anna Bahr disputed his account on social media.

“Can confirm this …. did not happen,” Bahr wrote on X in response to a post summarizing Emanuel’s remarks.

Bahr’s statement did not make clear whether she was denying that the meeting took place or disputing Emanuel’s version of the conversation.

Emanuel has also taken aim at the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in recent days. In a separate post on X, he argued that Democrats should focus on winning competitive elections instead of embracing what he described as ideological causes.

“You can be focused on winning tough races, flipping red seats blue. Or you can be focused on abolishing prisons and… the Senate and Supreme Court? You can’t do both,” Emanuel wrote. “I’m for winning this November and ending Trump’s corruption — and I’m also for putting an end to all the distractions from the DSA.”

{Matzav.com}