Mamdani says leftwing populist victory can be replicated across US
Zohran Mamdani, in his first major interview since his upset victory in the Democratic party's mayoral primary in New York shook up US politics, said his brand of campaigning and leftist political stances can translate to anywhere in the US.
Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, stunned many observers by beating Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday night, delivering a devastating blow to the former New York governor who ran a centrist campaign backed by most of the party establishment.
Mamdani told MSNBC's Jen Psaki that his populist campaign – which focused on inequality and promised radical moves on rent, the price of food and free public transport – could be deployed anywhere in the US as Democrats seek to combat Donald Trump and his Maga movement.
'I think ultimately this is a campaign about inequality, and you don't have to live in the most expensive city in the country to have experienced that inequality, because it's a national issue. And what Americans coast to coast are looking for are people who will fight for them, not just believe in the things that resonate with their lives, but actually fight and deliver on those very things,' he said.
Mamdani added: 'I think that in focusing on working people and their struggles, we also return back to what makes so many of us proud to be Democrats in the first place.'
Mamdani – who was backed by fellow socialists Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont, and the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – campaigned by combining an intense effort to knock on doors and meet voters with a highly effective social media strategy.
That style contrasted sharply with Cuomo, who was backed by millions of dollars of money from rich donors and endorsements from party bigwigs including Bill Clinton and the South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn, and who ran a campaign focused on more stage-managed events. Throughout he was dogged by the sexual harassment allegations that led to his ouster as state governor four years ago, as well as a sense he was using the mayoral campaign to reignite his own political career rather than any particular or longstanding commitment to the city he sought to lead.
'We have found exactly the way to defeat organized money, which is organized people. We're speaking about a scale of a campaign that we haven't seen in this city in a long time,' Mamdani said.
'And ultimately, we believe in a politics of no translation, one that is both direct to the struggles of working people's lives and also delivered directly. And there is nothing more direct than a New Yorker knocking on another New Yorker's door.'
Mamdani's victory means he will be the Democratic party's nominee in the mayoral election, and given the heavy Democratic slant of New York City voters it is often the case that the party nominee also wins the mayoralty.
But Cuomo has signalled he may run as an independent, despite his loss this week. And the current mayor, Eric Adams, who won as a Democrat, will also run as an independent, after his popularity within the party plummeted due in part to allegations of corruption and his newfound closeness with Trump.
Including the Republican party candidate, Curtis Sliwa, the rightwing podcaster who founded the Guardian Angels charitable organization focused on street safety, it sets up a likely four-way race in November. Mamdani nevertheless remains the favorite to win, which would make him New York's first Muslim mayor and solidify his place at 33 years old as a bright new star of the Democratic party.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
an hour ago
- Buzz Feed
The Truth About Teaching Immigrant Students In LA
'If they spit, we will hit, and I promise you, they will be hit harder than they ever have been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!' — Donald Trump President Trump says he is defending Los Angeles from a 'foreign invasion,' but the only invasion we see is the one being led by Trump. Roughly a quarter of all students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are undocumented. The student body at the high school where I teach consists almost entirely of immigrants, many of them undocumented, and the children of immigrants, many of whose parents and family members are undocumented. This week we held our graduation ceremony under the specter of Trump's campaign against our city. Outside, school police patrolled to guard against potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Amidst rumors of various actions, LAUSD decided that some schools' graduations would be broadcast on Zoom. For many immigrant parents, graduation day is the culmination of decades of hard work and sacrifice, and many braved the threat of an ICE raid and came to our campus anyway. Others, perhaps wisely, decided to watch from home. They deserve better. Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem calls us a ' city of criminals,' and many Americans are cheering on the Trump administration and vilifying immigrants. What we see in LAUSD is an often heroic generation of immigrant parents working hard to provide for their children here while also sending remittance money to their families in their native countries. We see students who (usually) are a pleasure to teach, and parents who are grateful for teachers' efforts. Watching the students at the graduation ceremony, I saw so many who have had to overcome so much. Like the student in my AP U.S. government class who from age 12 worked weekends for his family's business but made it into UCLA and earned a scholarship. There's the girl who had faced homelessness this year. The boy with learning issues who powered through my AP class via an obsessive effort that his friends would kid him about, but which he committed to anyway. He got an 'A,' which some of the students ribbing him did not. Many students have harrowing, horrific stories of how they got to the U.S. — stories you can usually learn only by coaxing it out of them. There's the student who grew up in an apartment complex in San Salvador, where once girls reached a certain age they were obligated to become the 'girlfriend' of a member of whatever gang controlled that area. When she was 14 they came for her, but she was ready, and shot a gang member before slipping out of the country, going all the way up through Guatemala and Mexico, desperate to find her father in Los Angeles. As she told me this story at parent conference night, tears welled up in her father's eyes. It's also touching to watch their loving, long-running argument — he wants her to manage and eventually take over the small business he built, and she wants to become an artist instead. To this day she does not know whether the gang member she shot lived or died. At the graduation ceremony, our principal asks all those who will be joining the armed forces to stand up to be recognized. These students are a windfall for the U.S. military. I teach seniors, and in an average class, three or four of my students join the military, most often the Marines, either right out of high school or within a couple years. Were these bright, hard-working young people born into different circumstances, they would have gone to college. Instead, they often feel compelled to join the military for the economic opportunity — the so-called 'economic draft.' Some also enlist because it helps them gain citizenship and/or helps family members adjust their immigration status. A couple years ago, an accomplished student told me he was joining the Marines instead of going to college. I was a little surprised and asked him why, and he replied, 'Because it's the best way to fix my parents' papers.' Immigrants are the backbone of many of our industries, including construction and homebuilding, restaurants, hospitality and agriculture. They are an indispensable part of the senior care industry, particularly in assisted living and in-home care. Of the couple dozen people who cared for my ailing parents during a decade of navigating them through various facilities, I can't remember one who was not an immigrant. There is something especially disturbing about disparaging the people who care for us when we're old, sick, and at our most vulnerable. Immigrants are woven into the fabric of our economy and our society. They are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, and an integral part of our community. The average person in Los Angeles interacts with them continually in myriad ways — and without a thought to their immigration status. Immigrants are also maligned for allegedly leeching off public benefits without paying taxes to finance them. This week conservative commentator Matt Walsh called to ' ban all third world immigration ″ whether it's 'legal or illegal,' explaining, 'We cannot be the world's soup kitchen anymore.' One can't teach a U.S. government and politics class in Los Angeles without detailing the phenomenon of taxpayers blaming immigrants for the cost of Medicaid, food stamps and other social programs. My students are hurt when they come to understand that many Americans look at their parents, who they've watched sacrifice so much for them, as 'takers.' Nor is it true. Californians pay America's highest state sales tax. It is particularly egregious in Los Angeles, where between this and the local surcharge, we pay 9.75%. As I teach my economics students, this is a regressive tax where LAUSD students and their parents must pay the same tax rate on everything they buy as billionaires do. Moreover, most immigrants are renters, and they informally pay property taxes through their rent. California ranks 7th highest in the nation in average property taxes paid. Our state government estimates that immigrants pay over $50 billion in state and local taxes and over $80 billion more in federal taxes. Add this to the enormous value of their labor, and America is getting a bargain. Part of what is driving the current protests is the sense that once somebody is taken by ICE, their families won't know their fate. Where will they be sent? Will they get due process? Will they end up in a Salvadoran megaprison where, even if it's ordered that they be returned home, the president may pretend he can't get them back? It is fitting that the flashpoint for much of the protests has been the federal Metropolitan Detention Center downtown. We also question the point of all this, particularly since the Trump administration can't seem to get its story straight as to why ICE is even here. Trump's border czar Tom Homan says the raids are about enforcing the laws against hiring undocumented workers and threatens 'more worksite enforcement than you've ever seen in the history of this nation.' By contrast, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, citing 'murderers, pedophiles, and drug traffickers,' says the purpose of the raids is to ' arrest criminal illegal aliens.' And now, having provoked protests, the Trump administration uses them as a justification for escalating his measures against Los Angeles. Amid this, our graduating students struggle to focus on their goals. One Salvadoran student who came to this country less than four years ago knowing little English managed the impressive feat of getting an 'A' in my AP class. He'd sometimes come before school to ask questions or seek help parsing through the latest immigration document he'd received. Usually, whatever document I read over did not provide him much encouragement. He earned admission to a University of California school, where he'll be studying biomedical engineering. Perhaps one day he'll help develop a medicine that will benefit some of the people who don't want him here. When we said goodbye after the graduation ceremony, I didn't know what to say beyond what I've often told him in the past — 'Just keep your head down and keep marching forward.' 'I will,' he replied.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump economic advisor warns of recession if ‘big, beautiful bill' is delayed
Stephen Miran, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, warned Thursday about the economic implications of not passing President Trump's domestic policy bill by the deadline given by the White House. While in discussion with NewsNation's Blake Burman on 'The Hill,' Miran suggested the U.S. could face a recession if Congress fails to pass the 'big, beautiful bill' by July 4. Markets, companies and CEOs are currently confident in Congress's ability to get the legislation over the finish line, 'but if that confidence starts to ebb, that will seep into the economy,' Miran warned. 'If people start to think, 'Hey, this thing is dragging on,' we might have a $4 trillion tax hike. They hold off on investments, they hold off on hiring, they put off economic decisions.' He continued, 'And that's really, really bad, because then the economy slips into recession because they expect that tax hike.' When pressed by Burman on whether he was predicting there would be a recession if the bill isn't passed or the deadline is pushed back, Miran responded, 'Oh, absolutely.' 'Look, you don't implement the biggest tax hike in history, because Congress fails to do its duty and then expect the economy not to go into a recession,' he continued. Miran suggested that 'millions of people' could lose their jobs, and nine million could lose their health insurance if the 'big, beautiful bill' fails or the deadline is pushed back. 'It would be a disaster. And so, everybody knows the absolute imperative to get this bill over the line,' Miran added. Some economists are suggesting the Senate version of the bill may not live up to its promises for economic growth and fiscal responsibility, however. Some tax experts say tax-cut provisions meant to aid working Americans will have little, if no, effect on growth. And with all tax cut extensions factored in, the bill could end up costing between $4 trillion and $5 trillion over 10 years. The White House has been adamant about passing Trump's massive reconciliation package by July 4. 'We expect that bill to be on the president's desk for signature by July Fourth,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. The House has already passed its version of the bill, which is now waiting for passage in the Senate. It will need to be approved again by the House before Trump is able to give it his signature.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Dem Sen Briefed On Iran: I Don't Think Trump 'Was Telling The Truth' - Erin Burnett OutFront - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Dem Sen Briefed On Iran: I Don't Think Trump 'Was Telling The Truth' Erin Burnett OutFront 48 mins A democratic senator says Iran's nuclear program was not obliterated after receiving a closed door intelligence briefing. Republicans are coming to Trump's defense. Plus, Zoran Mamdami joins to discuss his stunning victory against Andrew Cuomo in New York City.
