New York City's new socialist mayor is surrounding himself with people who call American citizens military targets.
Now one of his own campaign people is operating out of Shanghai – producing propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party.
And when Musk found out what this man said about him, he didn't issue a statement through a PR firm.
The Man Behind Mamdani's Camera
Eric Hovagim filmed three primary campaign videos for Zohran Mamdani – the Democrat Socialist who now runs America's largest city.
He posed for photos with the future mayor.
He celebrated afterward, writing that the campaign would "go in the history books" and calling it "a masterclass in video production."
Then he moved to China – permanently – and started making content defending the regime that runs concentration camps for Uyghur Muslims.
That's not a metaphor.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2084433493140844763?s=20
Hovagim told viewers that reports of the Uyghur genocide are "CIA propaganda."
He called the United States the "Fourth Reich."
He called Sam Altman "a human shield."
And then – from Shanghai – he declared Elon Musk "a valid military target."
The Free Press broke the full story Sunday, and Musk saw it.
His response: "If they come after me, I will come after them and finish the job."
What Hovagim Did Next Tells You Everything
After Musk responded, Hovagim walked into a Tesla battery factory in China – the one that produces over half of Tesla's vehicles – snapped a photo, made an obscene gesture, and posted it to X.
He wrote that Elon had "threatened to kill" him, so he came to the factory.
A man who called an American citizen a military target – from inside communist China – then used that American's own factory as a backdrop for a taunting photo op.
And Mamdani has said nothing.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2073158269976121848?s=20
Not a word of distance.
Not a condemnation.
Not even a press release.
The silence is its own statement.
This Is Bigger Than One Videographer
The Hovagim story isn't just about one radicalized videographer with three million online followers.
It's about what the Democrat Party is becoming – and who they're letting inside the tent.
The DSA removed its own constitutional provision barring Leninists from joining in August 2025.
About a dozen DSA members have now signed a formal pledge to "support and defend" Chinese socialism – language The New York Post uncovered last week.
The CCP has been flying DSA leaders to China for what can only be described as ideological grooming sessions.
And the man who filmed Mamdani's campaign ads is now living inside that system – defending a regime that has imprisoned over a million people for their religion.
Mike Rowe – no conservative firebrand, just a man who built a television career celebrating working Americans – saw this coming.
He warned Sunday that embracing the DSA would be "the largest political blunder in my lifetime" for the Democrat Party.
Rowe said Democrats have a real opening with independents right now – a chance to prove they're not the party of genocide denial and violent rhetoric aimed at American citizens.
https://twitter.com/TRUMPGIRL_STL/status/2084515140607594819?s=20
They're not taking it.
The Party That Won't Say No
This is the pattern now.
After October 7, DSA chapters held rallies cheering Palestinian "resistance" while 1,200 Israelis lay dead.
When one of Mamdani's own campaign people calls Elon Musk a valid military target from inside China – silence.
The Democrat Party spent years telling you they were the adults in the room.
They were going to protect democracy.
They were going to defend institutions.
Instead, they handed New York City to a man whose campaign videographer films propaganda for communist China and declares American citizens military targets.
Someone needs to ask Mamdani – and every Democrat who endorsed him – whether they agree with that assessment.
Make them answer.
Sources:
- Tanner Nau, "He Made Videos for Mamdani and Piker — and Loves the CCP," The Free Press, August 3, 2026.
- Victor Nava, "Members of Mamdani's DSA Pledge to 'Support' and 'Defend' China," New York Post, July 30, 2026.
- Daily Caller News Foundation Staff, "Volunteer Video Editor for Mamdani Campaign Revealed to Be CCP Supporter Who Downplayed Uyghur Genocide," Independent Journal Review, November 17, 2025.
- "I Was There for DSA's Radicalization. The Democrats Are Next," Daily Wire, July 2026.
