Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., claimed that Black people face higher rates of chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes due to the stress of being called the "N-word" every day during an appearance on "CNN NewsNight" on Wednesday.
Bowman argued that the United States is not dealing with "America’s original sin and its disease of hate and racism towards Black and Brown people," which he says is contributing to Black people suffering from higher rates of chronic diseases.
"The reason why heart disease and cancer and obesity and diabetes are bigger in the Black community is because of the stress we carry from having to deal with being called the ‘N-word’ directly or indirectly every day," Bowman said.
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Bowman told the CNN panel that he believes Black people face higher rates of chronic diseases due to the stress they incur by being called the "N-word" every day. (Screenshot/CNN)
The former New York congressman then claimed that if members of the Republican Party would "listen and try to learn and engage and grow" and stop being so "hateful," we could "have a much better country."
Bowman's explosive rant occurred after a discussion on Zohran Mamdani's recent win in the New York City Democratic primary election quickly spiraled into a heated debate on racism.
The debate began after CNN's Abby Phillip accused "MAGA-world" figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Charlie Kirk and Laura Loomer of uploading "Islamophobic" social media posts about Mamdani after his win on Tuesday.
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Zohran Mamdani speaks during his victory party in the Queens borough of New York City early Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
After watching a clip of Mamdani on MSNBC claiming that he had received death threats during his mayoral campaign, Marc Short, the former Chief of Staff for former Vice President Mike Pence, offered a different view on which side of the aisle has been ramping up political violence in the country.
While Short agreed that some of the rhetoric surrounding Mamdani has been taken too far, he argued that there are "performative artists on both sides and both sides of politics today," and said that the actual political violence happening today is coming from the left.
"The reality is that the last two assassination attempts on Donald Trump were from leftists. The assassination attempt on Brett Kavanaugh was from leftists," he noted. "So we condemn the rhetoric on the right, but it seems like it‘s always focused on the right and actually not focused on the actions on the left."
Bowman argued that the Republican Party is not doing enough to counter the racism that comes from the party "on a consistent basis." (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
Bowman swiftly countered Short's argument, citing the murder of a Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as the wounding of another and his wife earlier this month as evidence of right-wing violence in the U.S.
"These were two [sic] Democratic elected officials in Minnesota who were killed. The Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, killed, Christchurch, New Zealand, slaughtered, AME church in South Carolina on and on and on," he argued, adding, "This is America."
Bowman continued, "We are not dealing with America‘s original sin and its disease of hate and racism towards Black and Brown people, and sexism towards women and anti-LGBTQ sentiment. We are not dealing with that. Your colleagues in the Republican Party do not hold each other accountable when it comes to the racism that comes from the party on a consistent basis."