President Donald Trump took a victory lap Tuesday night after Representative Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, lost his primary bid to former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Trump, never one to pass up a political jab, posted on Truth Social that Goldman was “weak and pathetic” and claimed voters rejected him for “illegally targeting President TRUMP.” He added, “In any event, this jerk is finally GONE!”
Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, served as the lead majority counsel during the House Democrats’ first impeachment inquiry against Trump in 2019. That effort made Trump only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached, a distinction he earned again after the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Goldman has represented New York’s 10th Congressional District since 2023, but on Tuesday, he lost the primary by more than 30 points.
Lander, who secured endorsements from New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Senator Bernie Sanders, ran to Goldman’s left, hammering him for his support of Israel during the ongoing war in Gaza. Both Lander and Goldman are Jewish, and the contest became a flashpoint for internal Democratic divisions over Middle East policy. The New York primary upsets underscored a broader rift within the party as left-wing candidates ousted incumbents in several races.
Following his defeat, Goldman urged Democrats to focus on defeating Trump rather than fighting among themselves. “Almost all of the problems are really coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” he told Spectrum News NY1. “The more internal division and divisiveness, internal fighting, that we have means that [Republicans are] going to continue to push forward with their agenda, which is devastating to American families.”
Lander struck a different tone, declaring Tuesday that voters in the district “sent a resounding message: That you want leadership ready to fight, not fold, against authoritarianism.” His victory was part of a wave of progressive wins that Representative Ro Khanna said signaled the progressive movement is on the rise.
Trump, never one to let a political enemy off the hook, returned to Truth Social on Wednesday to express mock sympathy. He said he felt “sorry” for Goldman while calling him a “major Slimeball.” The president also took a swipe at George Conway, the conservative lawyer and estranged husband of former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, who finished a distant fifth in a separate Democratic primary in New York’s 12th Congressional District. Trump wrote that Goldman is “wandering aimlessly, together with the former husband of the great Kellyanne Conway, through a large field of Dumocrat Communists, trying so hard to find his way.”
Trump concluded that Goldman’s defeat was a “very sad finish for a man who has no clue, and never did!!!”
The primary results come amid a broader political landscape where Trump has been clashing with Republicans like Senator Bill Cassidy and pushing his agenda. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is grappling with how to balance progressive energy against the imperative to defeat Trump in 2024. Goldman’s loss, in a district that includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, is a clear signal that the party’s left flank is willing to challenge incumbents who don’t align with its priorities.
