The Adam Friedland Show — RITCHIE TORRES Talks Zionism, LGBT, The Bronx

Date: August 28, 2025
Guest: Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15)

Overview

This episode of The Adam Friedland Show features an in-depth, often tense conversation between comedian-host Adam Friedland and Rep. Ritchie Torres. The dialogue explores Torres’ personal story as a groundbreaking openly gay, Afro-Latino congressman from the South Bronx, his relationship to public service and identity, the challenges of representing the poorest district in America, the shifting politics of the Bronx, and his strongly pro-Israel stance in Congress amid the ongoing Gaza war. The discussion becomes heated and emotional when the topic of Israel/Palestine, antisemitism, and US foreign policy comes to the fore.

Adam intended the episode to be less adversarial, but acknowledges mid-show that it "fell off the rails" due to the fraught nature of the topics and his own emotions. The episode thus offers a raw, unscripted look at the personal, political, and generational tensions shaping American discourse today.

Key Topics and Insights

1. Ritchie Torres’s Origins and Personal Journey

[03:00–14:00]

• Upbringing: Torres discusses growing up in Bronx public housing with a single mother, emphasizing poverty and resilience.

  “He grew up in public housing, single mother… realized he was gay in elementary school… attempted to take his own life in college, and he came back from a mental health crisis and became a member…” – Adam Friedland [01:06]

• Identity: Torres is the first openly gay, Black, and Latino member of Congress.

  “Let's assume...after [Santos] was expelled...I became the most prominent Jewish, gay, Latino congressman from New York. How's that?” – Torres, joking about the oddities of identity politics [07:29]

Notable Moment

• Humor amidst heaviness: Torres compares the Bronx Zoo to Congress:

  “I consider the Bronx Zoo indistinguishable from the United States Congress.” – Ritchie Torres [04:39]

2. The Reality of Congressional Life

[09:00–13:00]

• Learning Curve: Torres describes Congress as “the best university in the world,” with absurdity and brilliance coexisting.

  “The problem with DC is not that it’s corrupt. The problem with DC is that it's stupid.” – Torres [12:24]

• On Fundraising: Candidly finds fundraising “nauseating,” and acknowledges the corrosive role of money in politics:

  “Too much time is spent on fundraising...you could be spending more than half your time every week at a banquet. Or just call time.” [38:51]

3. Representing NY-15: Poverty, Policy, and Mandate

[22:45–25:25]

• Public Housing Advocacy: Torres frames his run for office as a direct response to NYCHA’s chronic underfunding and public housing’s humanitarian crisis.

  “The most formative experience of my life was growing up in public housing…NYCHA…has a capital need of $80 billion and counting.” [22:45]

• District Demographics: Poorest in America, large immigrant population, high rates of SNAP and Medicaid enrollment.

4. Shifting Political Allegiances in the Bronx

[29:58–31:25]

• Explains the dramatic 22-point swing toward Trump in 2024 as driven by inflation and immigration anxiety among working-class people of color:

  “The simplest explanation is inflation and immigration…if you're paying double or triple the cost for groceries...you're going to lash out at those in power.” – Torres [30:29]

5. Identity and Outness in Congress

[16:00–19:00]

• On being out and the ethics of outing others:

  “No, you have to go through the...yeah, it’s a process.” – Torres on coming out [17:31]

• Debate as a turning point: Came out as gay during a high school debate competition and later decided to be fully out when running for city office.

  “It was the first time I ever had acknowledged my sexuality to someone.” [19:40]

6. Israel, Zionism, and US Policy — The Emotional Heart of the Episode

[41:26–66:00]
The conversation becomes tense and deeply personal as Adam grapples with Torres’ unwavering pro-Israel advocacy:

Torres on Israel and his First Visit

• Significance:

  “The first time I ever went to a foreign country…it was life changing. But also, you know, when you go to, when you experience the complexity of Israel…” [42:33]

• Describes empathy for Israelis living under rocket fire, equates South Bronx violence to perpetual threat in Israel:

  “In America, we don’t worry about Canada or Mexico firing rockets...Israel’s a tiny democracy…literally surrounded by actors intent on wiping it off the map.” [44:01]

On Anti-Semitism on Campus

• Describes an incident at CUNY where Jewish students were harassed by a mob near a kosher restaurant:

  “Harassing people simply for being pro-Israel Jews, to me, is wrong.” [46:15]

• Adam challenges the narrative—suggests antisemitism in the US is also driven by far-right elements (Proud Boys, Holocaust denial), not just campus leftists.

  “The last two years have felt different in America…now a ton of people are questioning the validity of the Holocaust…” – Adam [48:08]

The Gaza War and "Genocide" Debates

• Adam voices anguish over the Jewish community’s connection to Israel amid the Gaza crisis, accusing Torres of minimizing Palestinian suffering:

  “For kids to be starving right now and why is my government…I don’t want to do this fight...” – Adam [50:03]

• Torres remains adamant:

  “My view is, no justification for antisemitism. I think there’s zero justification for antisemitism.” [49:35]

• Tension peaks: Adam says what’s happening in Gaza is a genocide, and links US policy/funding to rising antisemitism; Torres disagrees strongly.

  “You’re blaming Israel for Holocaust denial.” – Torres [58:22]
  “I’m blaming our government for supporting a genocide…but it is unfathomable in my heart…” – Adam [58:28]

• Torres’s Red Line:

  “But you’re suggesting that it is the policy of the Israeli government to murder civilians. And that is a notion that I reject.” [64:07] “If you remove Hamas…” – Torres (arguing Hamas is the root problem) [64:30]

7. Broader Reflections and Closing Emotional Moments

[66:08–68:11]

• Adam expresses regret about the adversarial turn, articulates pain and confusion as an American Jew:

  “This is so embarrassing…rambling about Israel and being a Jew and the Holocaust. It’s the most embarrassing stuff to talk about in public.” [66:58]

• Torres:

  “Every Jewish American should have a right to be who they are…to wear a kippah, to display a Star of David, to be proudly, invisibly Jewish without fear…” [67:09]

Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• On Congress’s Absurdity:
  “The problem with DC Is not that it's corrupt. The problem with DC is that it's stupid.” – Torres [12:24]

• On Coming Out:
  “I realized I was gay in middle school.” – Torres [17:35]
  “I was browsing through MySpace…and I ran into the profile of a teacher…who identified as gay. It was the first time I knew of a person in my social universe who was openly LGBTQ…And I just spontaneously came out.” – Torres [19:04]

• On the Unpopularity of Congress:
  “We're less popular than colonoscopies…there was polling...we're more popular than cockroaches but with less [popularity]...and more popular than Ebola.” – Torres [31:32]

• Israel Support & Criticism

  “I left Israel with an empathy for the unique security situation that Israel faces.” – Torres [44:01] “You keep telling me that the problem is someone’s getting yelled at at a restaurant. I’m sorry.” – Adam [53:14] “The war began on October 7th.” – Torres [54:55] “If Palestinians were governed not by a terrorist organization like Hamas…the situation would be fundamentally different.” – Torres [55:47] “I continue to believe the two-state solution…is the inevitable path forward.” – Torres [60:41] “You’re suggesting that it is the policy of the Israeli government to murder civilians. And that is a notion that I reject.” – Torres [64:07]

• On the Debate’s Tone:

  “Works for me.” – Torres, on being “the best elected official I can be” [22:31]
  “It’s just been a gotcha interview.” – Torres [65:01]
  “Not in the South Bronx. People are not talking about Israel. People are talking about how to put food on the table and pay the bills.” – Torres [65:26]

Timestamps of Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | | --------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | | Opening, intros, and Torres’ background | 00:00–14:00 | | On life in Congress, fundraising, DC’s absurdity | 09:00–13:00 | | NY-15 district, poverty, public housing | 22:45–25:25 | | Swing toward Republicans in the Bronx | 29:58–31:25 | | LGBT identity, coming out | 16:00–19:40 | | Israel, Zionism, Torres’s first trip | 41:26–44:00 | | Antisemitism & campus politics, Gaza debate | 45:47–66:00 | | Emotional closing exchanges, regrets | 66:08–68:11 |

Overall Tone & Takeaways

• Raw and Unscripted: Adam brings deep personal pain and skepticism to the Israel debate, confronting Torres who remains steadfastly pro-Israel.
• Generational Discomfort: The episode showcases generational and communal rifts among American Jews and liberals over Israel, antisemitism, and US policy.
• No Resolution: The conversation is a microcosm of American debates—passionate, partial, and unresolved. Both men leave somewhat battered by the exchange.

If you listen for:

• Torres’s personal arc: Start at [03:00]
• Shift in Bronx political alignment: [29:58]
• Israel and Zionism, campus debates, Gaza: [41:26 onward]
• Most emotional, confrontational moments: [50:00–66:00]

Summary prepared in the original tone and with attributions to speakers throughout.