Speaking with Fox News Digital following a 92NY event promoting his new book, the New England native debated whether he\u2019d be the best candidate to take on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a>, whose socialist brand is rising in the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n “Depends what day you ask me,” Portnoy told Fox News Digital. “I don\u2019t know that I could win, but somebody\u2019s got to take that guy and beat him.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “So I don\u2019t know,” he added. “Maybe I\u2019m the guy to do it. Depends on how much more he keeps pissing me off.”<\/p>\n DAVE PORTNOY CELEBRATES NOT LIVING IN NYC AFTER DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST MAMDANI’S MAYORAL WIN<\/a><\/p>\n Erika Ayers Badan and Dave Portnoy attend “Dave Portnoy In Conversation With Erika Ayers Badan: Cancel Me If You Can” at 92NY in New York City on June 29, 2026. (Theo Wargo\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n The comments came following a panel promoting Portnoy\u2019s new book, “Cancel Me If You Can,” in which the Barstool founder<\/a> left no stone unturned when it came to topics of discussion \u2014 including touching on the recent sweep by three far-left socialists in New York City\u2019s primary elections last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I don’t want to say, \u2018We don’t do politics,\u2019 and then I jump into politics,” Portnoy said during the panel, in response to a question submitted by Fox News Digital. “And I can’t stay out of it, because it is blowing in my mind what’s going on [in New York City] right now.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Portnoy went on to blast previous comments from Mamdani-backed candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier<\/a> that have resurfaced in light of her primary win.<\/p>\n DEM SOCIALIST’S NYC PRIMARY UPSET SIGNALS ‘GENERATIONAL’ SHIFT IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY, STRATEGISTS SAY<\/a><\/p>\n Dave Portnoy attends “Dave Portnoy In Conversation With Erika Ayers Badan: Cancel Me If You Can” at 92NY in New York City on June 29, 2026. (Theo Wargo\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u00a0“That lady, Chevalier, just got elected,” Portnoy said. “The things she has said are unbelievable.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “She said all Arab men [and] Black men shouldn\u2019t date ugly colonizers,” he continued. “She said no prisons, no quarters, no jails. She started a group at Columbia that\u2019s goal was to overthrow Western society \u2014 she just got elected.”<\/p>\n Although Chevalier has not been elected to office, her victory is effectively a certainty in her deep-blue district after winning the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n Darializa Avila Chevalier, U.S. Democratic House candidate for New York, speaks at a Get Out The Vote rally at Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18, 2026, ahead of the state’s primary election on June 23. (Adam Gray\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n He also pointed to resurfaced remarks made by Mamdani-backed Aber Kawas, who won her primary race in New York State Senate District 12, in which she appeared to suggest the United States deserved the September 11, 2001<\/a>, terror attacks.<\/p>\n MAMDANI’S FAILURE TO WALK BACK THESE POSITIONS COULD CAUSE RECKONING IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: ‘FIVE-ALARM WARNING’<\/a><\/p>\n “[Kawas], who just got elected, said America deserved 9\/11,” Portnoy said. “Like that to me, is just \u2014 I can\u2019t even wrap my brain around it.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s scary or if I should be scared or like, [if] I gotta get into politics,” he added. “I am stunned by some of the things that are happening now.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Dave Portnoy and Erika Ayers Badan attend “Dave Portnoy In Conversation With Erika Ayers Badan: Cancel Me If You Can” at 92NY in New York City on June 29, 2026. (Theo Wargo\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Kawas\u2019 previous comments stemmed from a 2017 episode of the Asian American Writers’ Association podcast titled “Islamophobia beyond 9\/11 with Aber Kawas,” in which she said, “The system of capitalism and racism and White supremacy\u2026 and Islamophobia have all been used to colonize lands, to take resources from other people and so this is a long trajectory, and we’re just seeing the manifestations of that continuation with 9\/11.”<\/p>\n NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI DEFENDS PAST TWEETS, SAYS CUOMO ATTACKING \u2018MYTHICAL VERSION\u2019 OF HIM<\/a><\/p>\n The socialist candidate later walked back her comments days after her win, telling Fox News Digital, “I\u2019ve always been outspoken about the wrongful scapegoating of Muslim Americans, both before and after 9\/11, and in this interview I was speaking about the harmful notion that Muslims should have to apologize for an act of violence they have nothing to do with.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The pizza critic known as “El Presidente” took aim at Mamdani, blasting the sitting mayor\u2019s socialist agenda<\/a> while refusing to confirm whether a mayoral run was off the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n WATCH: DAVE PORTNOY DISCUSSES WHETHER HE’D RUN FOR POLITICAL OFFIC<\/a><\/p>\n “I\u2019d want to go right for Mamdani,” Portnoy told the audience at 92NY, in response to Fox News Digital\u2019s question.<\/p>\n RAPPING, ACTING CAMEO AMONG FRINGE ACTIVITIES LINING MAMDANI’S THIN WORK RESUME<\/a><\/p>\n “Unlike Mamdani, who\u2019s never had a job, I\u2019ve had a real job,” he added. “And I\u2019ve actually done a lot of good when I wasn\u2019t doing it to run for office. I\u2019m doing it because it\u2019s the right thing to do.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t know if I could win this city with a Democrat, but [Mamdani] has said what he wanted to do before he got elected. And I trust what people say before they\u2019re running, and he said some pretty crazy things about what he wants to do<\/a>.”\u00a0<\/p>\n New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a primary-night watch party for NYC Congressional candidate Claire Valdez at 99 Scott Studio on June 23, 2026, in the East Williamsburg neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Portnoy lamented that he believes entrepreneurship<\/a> \u2014 a fundamental principle of the American Dream \u2014 has been demonized by far-left candidates throughout Democratic cities in the country.<\/p>\n MAHER DEFENDS CAPITALISM AS BETTER THAN ‘REVERSE,’ CALLS OUT MAMDANI’S SOCIALIST BELIEFS<\/a><\/p>\n “To me, I think Barstool is the American Dream. I really do,” Portnoy said. “It\u2019s like, you work your a– off, you build a company, you employ 400 to 450 people who enjoy it. I\u2019ve become wealthy beyond my reach. It kind of is the American Dream.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Erika Ayers Badan and Dave Portnoy attend “Dave Portnoy In Conversation With Erika Ayers Badan: Cancel Me If You Can” at 92NY in New York City on June 29, 2026. (Theo Wargo\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t like when I hear that people should be ashamed for being successful \u2014 that bothers me greatly,” the Barstool founder continued, earning a round of applause. “A lot of things [Mamdani] says really do bother me.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE<\/a><\/p>\n Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking to the audience in response to Fox News Digital\u2019s question, Portnoy paraphrased a famous line from philosopher Plato to emphasize his belief that Americans should run for office if they are unhappy with the politicians elected to represent them.<\/p>\n![\"Erika](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/erika-ayers-badan-dave-portnoy-fox-news-001.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Dave](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dave-portnoy-92ny-new-york-fox-news-001.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Darializa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/darializa-avila-chevalier-new-york-fox-news-003.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Dave](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dave-portnoy-erika-ayers-nyc-fox-news-001.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Mamdani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782861833_457_Mamdani-Primary-Night.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Erika](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dave-portnoy-erika-ayers-badan-fox-news-001.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n