The UFT's Mamdani endorsement: Letters to the Editor — July 10, 2025
In choosing Zohran Mamdani, the UFT has shown it accepts the whole package of what he stands for — including Jew hatred and government seizure of private property ('Lefty UFT endorses radical Mamdani,' July 9).
If anything, this action calls for school choice: To give parents the option of placing their children in schools that actually teach the basics, rather than political indoctrination.
Bill Isler
Floral Park
In the past, any communist or fascist would have to seize power by force of arms. In today's New York City, it turns out all a communist has to do is offer the United Federation of Teachers a raise.
Christopher O'Keefe
Manhattan
I am ashamed of my union for doing this. This endorsement came from a meeting of the union's Delegate Assembly, apparently made up of leftist, antisemitic communists.
How could the UFT endorse a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions advocate who refuses to acknowledge Holocaust Remembrance and is rumored to make Jamaal Bowman, an anti-Israel poor imitation of a human being, the next chancellor of New York City schools?
To protest this outrage, I am asking my fellow UFT colleagues to withdraw from giving to COPE, a financial political action group of the UFT.
Ed Greenspan
Brooklyn
Mass insanity at New York City's teachers union overcomes intelligence. The UFT is blind to Mamdani's threat to our fragile democracy.
Thomas Birnbaum
Manhattan
I was taken aback when I read in The Post that the United Federation of Teachers voted to endorse antisemite Mamdani for New York City mayor. How support of Mamdani helps the city's public schools is lost on me, or any thinking person for that matter.
However, on reflection, I remembered that this was the teachers union that denounced the attempts by parents to control what was taught to their children.
This rabble organization of teachers cares not for the betterment of students, but only for paychecks and pensions.
Frank Olivieri
Ft. Myers, Fla.
So, the UFT has endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor. As teachers, how stupid can they possibly be for backing a snake-oil salesman?
I'll bet a boatload of chalk that these teachers will tell their students to tell their parents to vote for Mamdani.
The election is less than four months away; there's still time to pack up and leave New York for good.
Harve Kaye
Brooklyn
The Issue: Elon Musk's threat to launch a third national party amid his disapproval of President Trump.
In theory, the new political party proposed by Elon Musk as a third alternative could be a great divider with just a few wins in the House and Senate ('Get Real, Elon,' Glenn Harlan Reynolds, July 8).
The problem, however, is that the basis of this party seems to be both spite and an attempt to gain power over President Trump.
A rival party is not a positive idea, and thus it might be better for Musk to step away and spend his time and money on solving one of the world's many problems.
Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne, Australia
It appears Elon Musk wants to create a new national political party as revenge due to President Trump and the Republican Party no longer being his puppets and passing the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Musk should go back to the country where he was born — which is not the United States — to create his new political party.
Cecelia Clark
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@nypost.com. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
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Fox News
35 minutes ago
- Fox News
'Comrade Chris' – Republicans aim to anchor Mamdani to Democrats across the country
GILSUM, N.H. – Republicans aren't wasting an opportunity to make democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani a cudgel to bash Democrats across the country. Mamdani's stunning mayoral primary victory in the nation's most populous city rocked the political world, adding fuel to an already volatile election season. Republicans have been relentless in trying to anchor Mamdani to Democrats across the country who are running in competitive races in elections this year and in next year's midterms. That's the case in New Hampshire, in the high-profile 2026 race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Republican candidate and former Sen. Scott Brown went up this week with a digital ad that edits a picture of Rep. Chris Pappas, the Democratic candidate in the race, alongside photos of Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star who backed Mamdani. The caption on the ad reads "Comrade Chris." Pappas, speaking with Fox News Friday on the campaign trail as he toured W.S. Badger, a natural and organic skincare and sunscreen company in this southwestern New Hampshire town, said, "Republicans have spent tens of millions of dollars running attack ads against me through the years trying to paint me as someone that I'm not." "People know me. They know the work that I've been doing. They know that I'm one of the most bipartisan members of the House of Representatives because I believe in solving problems and getting things done," Pappas said. "I'm a New Hampshire Democrat. I'm proud of my track record in Congress." Pappas was joined on the campaign trail by longtime Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who spent plenty of time in New Hampshire ahead of her third-place finish in the state's 2020 Democratic presidential primary. "It's about New Hampshire. They're going to do this in all these races across the country. They try to attach people. People have never even met some of these people. And they keep doing it," Klobuchar told Fox News when asked about the Republican ad anchoring Mamdani to Pappas. "To me this is about what's going on for the people of this state." The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was one of the first out of the gate to capitalize on Mamdani's leftward lurch, firing off an email release minutes after his victory that claimed, "the new face of the Democrat Party just dropped, and it's straight out of a socialist nightmare." Aiming to tie House Democrats to Mamdani, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella argued that "every vulnerable House Democrat will own him, and every Democrat running in a primary will fear him." The National Republican Senatorial Campaign (NRSC) also quickly got into the game, tying Pappas and Abdul El-Sayed – one of the contenders for the Democratic Senate nomination in battleground Michigan – to Mamdani. No surprise – the Republican attacks have even come from President Donald Trump, who, since Mamdani's victory two weeks ago, has repeatedly claimed that the 33-year-old Ugandan-born state assemblyman from the New York City borough of Queens is a "communist." Mamdani, who convincingly topped former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic mayoral nomination and take a big step toward becoming the city's first Muslim mayor, is giving Republicans plenty of ammunition. He's proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City's vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) "tuition-free," freezing rents on municipal housing, offering "free childcare" for children up to age 5, and setting up government-run grocery stores. Also fueling the Republican attacks are recent news items that have gone viral. They include a 2020 photo Mamdani posted online that shows him flipping off a statue of Christopher Columbus, stories about comments Mamdani made last December, when he said as mayor he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his recent comments in a cable news interview that "I have many critiques of capitalism." "The Democratic Party's trying to convince people that the tail is not wagging the dog, and they don't answer to the more extreme elements of their party," veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News. "Now, that entire effort is undercut by a socialist winning handily in a bellwether election to determine who's going to run America's largest city." "It's a messaging nightmare that's going to unfold in real time from now until the midterms," said Reed, who is a top political advisor to Brown. Veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance told Fox News that "the primary challenge for Democrats regarding Mamdani's candidacy is not his policy approach. The challenge is his party identification as a democratic socialist." "If there's any doubt about the negative implications of adding the word socialist to Mamdani's party affiliation, one need only peruse the national coverage whose focus has been on his party and the absence of party leadership to rush to his defense or offer endorsements," Lesperance, the president of New England College, said. But Democrats question the effectiveness of the GOP push. They argue that there's a world of difference between heavily blue New York City, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a roughly six-to-one margin, and some key battleground states and swing districts across the country. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee told reporters the day after Mamdani's victory that "I love New York, but it's a very liberal place and I don't know that you can necessarily apply that to the rest of the country." Pappas campaign communications adviser Collin Gately pointed to the ad from the Brown campaign and said, "Granite Staters trust Chris and will see through these attacks." And veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo cautioned, "I wouldn't read too much into this." Caiazzo, a veteran of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, argued that "Republicans are making too much out of this."
New York Post
44 minutes ago
- New York Post
Soros funneled $37 million to lefty groups backing Mamdani's mayoral run
That's rich. Socialist Zohran Mamdani has declared billionaires shouldn't exist, but it's unlikely he'd be the front-runner to become the Big Apple's next mayor if it wasn't for one — far-left kingmaker George Soros, financial records reviewed by The Post show. Mamdani recently told NBC News' 'Meet the Press, 'I don't think that we should have billionaires, frankly' while doubling down on his plan to jack up property taxes on 'richer and whiter neighborhoods' if elected mayor. Advertisement But in less than a decade, Soros' ultra-woke grant-making network Open Society Foundation has indirectly funneled a combined $37 million to the Working Families Party and at least other nine left-wing groups whose endorsements and get-out-the-vote groundwork played a pivotal role in helping Mamdani upset ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary, the foundation's records show. Since 2016, the far-left, socialist-friendly WFP — which helped score Mandani the Democratic line by brokering cross-endorsement deals that squeezed out Cuomo — has pocketed a staggering $23.7 million from Soros through its nonprofit fundraising arm Working Families Organization Inc. 5 Billionaire George Soros' grant-making network Open Society Foundation has indirectly funneled more than $37 million combined to the Working Families Party and nine other left-wing groups who played a pivotal role in helping socialist Zohran Mamdani (pictured) win New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, the foundation's records show. Michael Nigro Advertisement And at least another $13,944,005 went to the nine nonprofits and their offshoot fundraising entities — including the Make The Road Action ($3,515,00), and social justice nonprofits Community Voices Heard ($2,635,000) and Move On ($2.3 million), and the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace Acton ($650,000), according to records. All those groups backed the Queens assemblyman's mayoral campaign – as well as his Marxist agenda that includes advocating for criminal migrants and condemning Israel. 'While Zohran Mamdani attacks job creators and rails against wealth, the truth is he's benefiting from millions in support from billionaires and the very nonprofit network he pretends to stand apart from,' Mayor Eric Adams told The Post. 5 Billionaire George Soros has a long history of funding socialist and other lefty causes — and politicians who support them. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement 'You can't have it both ways. We need leadership that brings people together — not politicians who demonize success while quietly cashing in on it,' added Adams, a registered Democrat seeking re-election as an independent. The mayor touted he's a great example of the 'American Dream,' considering he was born into poverty 64 years ago in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and now runs the 'greatest city in the world.' 'The idea that billionaires or successful people shouldn't exist isn't just extreme — it's un-American,' Hizzoner added. 5 The Working Families Party tapped Mamdani as its favored candidate in the mayoral race. LP Media Advertisement Douglas Kellogg, state projects director for the conservative anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform, said no one should be surprised Soros' money is quietly driving Mamdani's campaign. 'George Soros is like a comic-book villain, James Bond villain who's funding a movement designed to undermine individual freedom and liberty across the globe,' said Kellogg. 'And he's been doing it for years, and he's continues to do it and finds new effective faces to put in front on it. If communism and socialism was popular, he wouldn't have to spend so much money and take so much time to try to achieve it.' 5 A breakdown of how Soros's money is being used to assist Mamdani's mayoral run. Tam Nguyen / NYPost Design Kellogg also said he believes there will be a mass Big Apple exodus of 'productive, law-abiding citizens who make New York great' if Mamdani is mayor, 'so the taxpayers and businesses have a lot to lose.' Although Soros and his family didn't directly donate to Mamdani's campaign, Patrick Gaspard, a former Open Society Foundations president who is now a distinguished senior fellow for a liberal think tank heavily funded by Soros called Center for American Progress, did play a key role. Gaspard, a longtime pal of far-left ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio who served as a top aide to former President Barack Obama, quietly helped guide Mamdani throughout the campaign, the New York Times reported. This included Gaspard meeting up with Mamdani and City Comptroller Brad Lander last month at Yara, a Midtown Lebanese restaurant, where over plates of fattoush, hummus and eggplant both mayoral candidates agreed to cross-endorse each other to help defeat Cuomo. Advertisement 5 Soros sitting with son Alex Soros, who chairs the Open Society Foundation. alexsoros/Instagram Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa said he believes Mamdani 'doesn't want to get rid of billionaires. He only wants to destroy the ones who don't bankroll his radical agenda.' 'If you're George Soros or part of the far-left donor class, you get a free pass and a seat at the table,' he said. 'Mamdani will drive out everyone else and turn New York into a city run by untouchables, where the Soros machine calls the shots.' Advertisement Billionaire John Catsimatidis, who owns the Gristedes supermarket chain, said Mamdani should be more transparent about his ties to Soros. 'I think America is the land of the free, and if it's billionaires . . . who are providing jobs, what is wrong with that?' said Catsimatidis. New York City is home to more billionaires than any city in the world — 123. Both Mamdani and Catsimatidis have butted heads over the Democratic Socialist's pie-in-the-sky pledge to establish city-run grocery stores. Advertisement Catsimatidis has threatened to sell his stores if Mamdani is elected mayor, but said this week it's more likely he'd 'reduce operations.' Neither Soros nor Mamdani returned requests for comment.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Foul! Mets logo 'illegally' co-opted to boost Zohran Mamdani
A knockoff baseball cap using the New York Mets' orange and blue colors and iconic 'NY' logo to boost Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign is being hawked online – without permission from the club or Major League Baseball, The Post has learned. The cap reads 'Zohran for NY Mayor,' with the interlocking 'NY' being the trademarked Mets logo. Some sellers, such as Good Shirts, which was charging $29.95 Friday for the commie cap, claim on their websites that 'a portion of proceeds will be donated to Zohran Mamdani's campaign fund.' Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is the frontrunner to win the NYC mayoral election in November. Ron Adar / M10s / Another online seller, Eletees, was charging $40.95 per cap and boasts it's 'perfect for Mets games, political rallies, or casual outings, offering a stylish way to show support for both the team and the candidate.' Selling unauthorized merchandise that uses MLB team logos, names and other trademarks is considered trademark infringement, and the league has a long history of suing bogus sellers. A baseball cap using the New York Mets' orange and blue colors and logo to boost Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign is being sold across the Internet – without permission from the club or Major League Baseball. Eletees MLB said it was unaware of the Mamdani Mets' caps until notified by The Post and would review the matter. The Mets did not return messages. Mamdani campaign spokesman Andrew Epstein said Mamdani is a Mets fan but has nothing to do with knockoff caps or its sellers. He also insisted proceeds from the cap sales aren't going to the campaign. Eletees and Good Shirts did not return messages.
