Ritchie Torres blasts Jamaal Bowman's "profanity" as AIPAC drops huge sums in New York race

New York, New York - Representative Ritchie Torres has slammed fellow Bronx Democrat Jamaal Bowman's "profanity" at the latter's weekend campaign rally ahead of a high-stakes battle for reelection.

Representative Jamaal Bowman speaks to the crowd as he campaigns in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Representative Jamaal Bowman speaks to the crowd as he campaigns in the Bronx borough of New York City.  © REUTERS

"The level of profanity here is so shocking as to be unbecoming of a Member of Congress," Torres wrote on X on Sunday.

He added, "There is nothing in Jamaal Bowman’s unhinged tirade that remotely resembles the decency of the people I know and represent in the South Bronx."

Torres' post includes a clip from a Saturday rally with Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and more in which Bowman refers to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, saying, "We are going to show f***ing AIPAC, the power of the motherf***ing South Bronx!"

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"People ask me why I got a foul mouth, what am I supposed to do?" Bowman continues. "You’re coming after me! You’re coming after my family! You’re coming after my children! I’m not supposed to fight back?"

"We're going to show them who the f*** we are!" he says as the crowd cheers and raises signs reading "Billionaires can't buy the Bronx" and "For the many, not the money."

AIPAC targets Jamaal Bowman in high-stakes primary

New Yorkers raise signs reading "Money for the Bronx, Not War!" and "Ritchie Torres: Blood on Your Hands, Stop Funding Genocide!" during a demonstration in support of Palestine.
New Yorkers raise signs reading "Money for the Bronx, Not War!" and "Ritchie Torres: Blood on Your Hands, Stop Funding Genocide!" during a demonstration in support of Palestine.  © IMAGO / SOPA Images

AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby group, has vowed to spend $100 million this cycle to unseat the Squad and other members of Congress.

The group and its affiliated super PAC have spent more than $1.6 million so far targeting Bowman.

Torres, who also represents portions of the Bronx, has benefitted from AIPAC to the tune of $372,994 in contributions in 2023-24.

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The 36-year-old has been rabid in his support of Israel amid its deadly siege of Gaza, which has claimed the lives of at least 37,598 Palestinians since October. He left the Congressional Progressive Caucus earlier this year after splitting with members over Israel policy.

Unsurprisingly, Bowman's challenger in the race, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, has also been a staunch backer of Israel.

The incumbent Democrat, by contrast, is one of only a handful of House lawmakers who have signed on to a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Bernie Sanders and AOC show up for Jamaal Bowman

From l. to r.: Representative Jamaal Bowman, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attend a campaign rally in the Bronx borough of New York City.
From l. to r.: Representative Jamaal Bowman, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attend a campaign rally in the Bronx borough of New York City.  © REUTERS

The Democratic primary contest for New York's 16th congressional district drew Sanders, AOC, and over 1,000 New Yorkers to the Bronx on Saturday.

"This election is one of the most important in the modern history of America, it really is," Sanders told the crowd.

"This election is about whether the billionaire class and the oligarchs will control the United States government, and our view is, no, they won't."

Also at the rally, protesters from Within Our Lifetime and other groups gathered nearby to call out what they see as progressives' failure to take a firm and meaningful stance against Israel's attacks on Gaza and oppression of the Palestinian people.

The demonstrators were demanding elected officials like Sanders, AOC, and Bowman revoke endorsements of President Joe Biden and any statements equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. They also urged politicians to recognize the right for an oppressed people to resist annihilation and engage in armed struggle, in accordance with international law.

"We will continue to protest politicians, whether they claim to be allies of our cause or not, if they do not meet the bare minimum for solidarity in a moment where our people in Palestine are bearing witness to a genocide sponsored and funded by the United States," Within Our Lifetime said in a press release.

New Yorkers hit the polls in Bowman's closely watched primary this Tuesday, June 25.

Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS & IMAGO / SOPA Images

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