'Fighting for fair is in my blood': Ali France's poignant first speech as Labor MP
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Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Billionaire grocery magnate warns NYC will turn into CUBA if socialist gets elected as mayor
Billionaire supermarket owner John Catsimatidis has warned that mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani will transform New York City into Cuba, which has been ruled by communists since 1959. Wealthy New Yorkers, including Catsimatidis, have been forecasting the doom of America's largest city should the self-professed socialist win the general election in November. Catsimatidis, owner of D'agostino and Gristedes, slammed Mamdani's agenda as free handouts in an exclusive interview with Fox Digital on Wednesday. 'We're gonna give you buses for nothing, we're gonna give you subways for nothing, we're gonna give you food for nothing. This is what Fidel Castro did,' Catsimatidis said. Mamdani, a 33-year-old New York State assemblyman, won the Democratic primary in June on promises of free bus service, free childcare, free tuition for the City University of New York and freezing the rents for more than 2 million residents. 'The people in Venezuela are starving,' Catsimatidis said. 'The people in Cuba are starving. And I think the American people, especially New Yorkers, they're smart and they're going to realize this right away.' In the next breath, the real estate mogul seemed to acknowledge Mamdani's charisma, while also tearing into his relatively thin résumé. 'He has a beautiful smile. He has a good smile. He seems like a nice guy, but it's a con game,' he said. 'He's not qualified to be mayor. The city is a $100 billion enterprise, and you have to be really smart. You have to be able to know your checks and balance, you have to be able to run 300,000 employees.' Still, Mamdani handily defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who was thought of as the more experienced option in the race. His main opponents in the general will be Cuomo and current mayor Eric Adams, both of whom are running as independents. Former US Attorney Jim Walden and Curtis Sliwa, the perennial Republican option, are also in the race. Catsimatidis sought to handwave away various polls that have Mamdani cruising to victory in November. 'I don't think the polls are really real right now,' Catsimatidis said. 'He doesn't like the Italian people. The Italians are going to be against him. He doesn't like business people. The business people are going to be against him. So I don't think he's that far ahead.' The most recent poll has Mamdani at 50 percent support among likely voters, while Cuomo is in a distant second at 22 percent. Catsimatidis, who ran for mayor himself in 2013, also believes the city won't be able to fund the Mamdani's policies by increasing corporate taxes and income taxes on rich New Yorkers. 'Sooner or later, you're going to run out of money,' he said. 'These union leaders are picking this guy, Mamdani, for what? They were promised a great day. They were promised great numbers. But if the city runs out of money, who's going to pay the pensions?' Catsimatidis's thorough condemnation of Mamdani comes as The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump is weighing getting involved in the mayoral race. Trump reportedly spoke on the phone with Cuomo directly about the state of the race, according to three sources who were briefed on the call. It's still unclear what exactly Trump and Cuomo said to one another or who of the two initiated the unlikely conversation. In early July, Trump publicly said he would arrest Mamdani if he dared to defy raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York City. He also accused Mamdani of possibly being in the United States illegally, even though he was born in Uganda and became a naturalized US citizen in 2018. 'I think he's terrible. He's a communist,' Trump has said. 'The last thing we need is a communist. I said there will never be socialism in the United States. So we have a communist?' Trump has also been asked about Mamdani's refusal to condemn the use of the term 'globalize the intifada,' a pro-Palestinian slogan that has encouraged violence against Israelis and Jews. Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Mamdani has now said he would discourage the use of the term. 'I think he's, frankly, I've heard he's a total nut job. I think the people in New York are crazy. If they go this route, I think they're crazy,' Trump has said.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Trump may ‘personally intervene' to stop Mamdani becoming New York mayor
Donald Trump is considering getting involved in the New York mayoral race in an effort to stop Zohran Mamdani from winning. The US president reportedly spoke to Andrew Cuomo after he lost the Democratic primary to socialist candidate Mr Mamdani, according to insiders. Mr Trump is also said to have pressed a Republican congressman and a New York businessman about who has the best chance of beating the millennial frontrunner, The New York Times reported. Despite losing to Mr Mamdani, weeks later Mr Cuomo re-entered the race as an independent candidate, adding to an already crowded field. Mr Trump later denied having spoken to Mr Cuomo. Eric Adams, the current mayor, is also running independently, while Curtis Sliwa is the Republican candidate. Mr Trump is said to have been briefed by Mark Penn, a pollster who worked for the Clintons, and Andrew Stein, a former New York City council president, who have both apparently suggested Mr Cuomo would be the best candidate. During a White House meeting in mid-July, Mr Trump asked congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican from the New York suburbs, about who would stand the best chance in a one-on-one race against Mr Mamdani, a source told The New York Times. The source said Mr Trump doubted whether Mr Sliwa could win and said he liked Mr Adams and had always gotten on with Mr Cuomo. It is not clear how Mr Trump would involve himself were he to decide to try and intervene in the race, but allies of Mr Adams and Mr Cuomo have been hoping Mr Trump will help coalesce support around one anti-Mamdani opponent. If all three rivals stay in the race, the vote could splinter and hand Mr Mamdani the keys to Gracie Mansion. Mr Mamdani's promises to freeze rent, open city-run supermarkets and free buses helped him achieve a sweeping victory in the Democratic primary. His campaign, largely run on social media, has capitated voters frustrated with extortionate prices. Mr Trump's conversation with Mr Cuomo reportedly took place when the former New York governor was deciding whether to continue his campaign. While some Republicans view Mr Mamdani as a potentially useful bogeyman of the Left who would provide useful ammunition for the 2026 midterms, Mr Trump is said to be concerned about the Democratic candidate's policies. Mr Trump, who was born and raised in New York and owns several businesses in the city, has publicly criticised Mr Mamdani. Last month, Mr Trump vowed he would not 'let this communist lunatic destroy New York', saying he holds 'all the levers' and 'all the cards'. He added: 'I'll save New York City, and make it 'hot' and 'great' again, just like I did with the good ol' USA!' Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr Cuomo, said Mr Trump and Mr Cuomo 'have not spoken in a while' but did not expand on how long 'a while' meant. 'As far as I know, they have not discussed the race,' Mr Azzopardi said. Mr Mamdani said in a statement: 'Andrew Cuomo has spent his career governing for the powerful and prioritising his own self-interests over those of the people he was sworn to serve. This is not just a shady backroom deal by a cynical politician, it is disqualifying. It is a betrayal.' He added: 'The job of New York City mayor is not to be [a] jester for a wannabe king, it is to protect the people of this city.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Australia news live: Gareth Ward in legal bid to avoid expulsion from NSW parliament; Acoss says it's time to roll back property tax breaks for investors
Update: Date: 2025-08-06T21:59:17.000Z Title: Chalmers says he will err on the side of workers when it comes to AI Content: Treasurer Jim Chalmers appeared on 7:30 Report last night, where he was talking about how AI will be a key topic at the government's productivity roundtable in a few weeks. He was asked if he would support the Australian Council of Trade Unions' call for workers to be able to veto AI in their workplace. He said he would err on the side of workers: We need to be realistic about it. And certainly, I agree that workers need to be part of the conversation when it comes to rolling out a technology that has this gamechanging potential. And where there's very real potential risks in the labour market. I would always err on the side of workers having a say in how their work is done. Update: Date: 2025-08-06T21:54:54.000Z Title: Good morning Content: and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Nick Visser, I'll be bringing you updates as the day gets rolling. Let's start with this: The Australian Council of Social Services (Acoss) is calling for the government to roll back tax breaks for property investors before the treasurer's productivity roundtable. Acoss is calling for the 50% capital gains tax discount to be halved 'so there'd be some tax reward for property investment but nowhere near as generous', the group's chief told the ABC. Also today, a court is expected to hear jailed MP Gareth Ward's bid to prevent the NSW parliament from expelling him. We'll bring you all the developments. Stick with us.
