DNC’s Malcolm Kenyatta kicked off NewsNation by host who pushed him on Mamdani question

“I’m not going to play that game,” said the Democratic Pennsylvania state representative after host Leland Vittert abruptly ended his interview segment.

A NewsNation segment interview with Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta was abruptly cancelled after the show’s host was left unsatisfied with the Pennsylvania elected official’s response to his question about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

The Monday evening segment on “On Balance with Leland Vittert” focused on political divisions. But those divisions were more on display after conservative news host Leland Vittert quickly ended his chat with Kenyatta.

The Pennsylvania state representative, who was recently elected to national Democratic leadership, was asked by Vittert to respond to a recent MSNBC interview in which U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared to pivot away from answering a question by civil rights leader and host Al Sharpton about a recent report that New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, an Indian born in Uganda, identified himself as “Black or African-American” on his college application.

“Did you ever think you’d see Hakeem Jeffries dodge an Al Sharpton question?” Vittert asked Kenyatta. Rather than engage the host on the subject, the 34-year-old DNC official pivoted to discuss President Donald Trump‘s rhetoric that he argued is fueling the country’s political divide.

“I think the thing that’s interesting to me, as we talk about political division in this country and the rhetoric that we all think about, is the person who has the responsibility to try to bring this country together,” said Kenyatta, who was quickly interrupted by Vittert.

“Is it possible for you to do this segment without mentioning Donald Trump?” said the NewsNation host. In response, Kenyatta reminded Vittert that Trump is president of the United States, to which the host retorted, “We’ve had many segments about him. We’re now having a segment about the mayor of New York.”

“I asked you a really simple question: Did you ever think you’d see Hakeem Jeffries dodge an Al Sharpton question?” Vittert tried once more, to which Kenyatta replied, “I just gave you my answer.”

Clearly unhappy with Kenyatta’s answer, Vittert unexpectedly ended the segment. “So you’re not going to answer any questions. It’s great having you. Thank you very much, appreciate it,” said the former Fox News host as he shook Kenyatta’s hand and closed the segment.

In a video response posted on Instagram, Kenyatta explained that despite NewsNation being a “Trump-aligned broadcast,” he decided to appear on the network amid arguments that Democrats must “go everywhere and talk to anybody about how Democrats want to make life better for working people and working families.”

Speaking on Vittert, he further explained, “He opened his broadcast with a whole tirade about political division, blaming the media and Democrats for blaming the floods in Texas on Donald Trump when the reality is DOGE and Donald Trump did massive cuts to our National Weather Service, and there are going to be more forecasts that are missed. And as we mourn the loss of life, we have to be real about why this is happening and about what we can do to stop it.”

On the broader topic of political division, Kenyatta said he took issue with Vittert’s line of questioning.

“He wanted me to respond to some silly retort about Hakeem Jeffries and Al Sharpton, and I pivoted to talk to him about his open…which accused all political polarization on Democrats and on the quote unquote left,” said Kenyatta. He added, “He said nothing about the fact that Donald Trump, just last week at a rally, the president of the United States, said that he hates Democrats–hates half of this country that he’s supposed to lead.”

Kenyatta said critics of Democrats not appearing enough on conservative outlets and platforms must understand “the games that are played and the unwillingness to allow viewers to get a full conversation, instead of just coming on responding to, you know, right-wing talking points.”

“I’m not going to play that game,” said the Democrat. “But I am willing to go anywhere and have a real conversation. It seems like tonight, they weren’t willing to do so.”