New York mayoral candidate Mamdani defends campaign despite US Democratic unease

Straits Times

3 days ago

Mr Zohran Mamdani greets a supporter during a watch party for his primary election in New York City on June 25. PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK - New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani defended his democratic socialism on June 29 and argued that his focus on economic issues should serve as a model for the party, even though some top Democrats have been reluctant to embrace him.
In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, Mr Mamdani said his agenda of raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and on corporations to pay for ambitious policies such as free buses, a US$30 (S$38) minimum hourly wage and a rent freeze was not only realistic but tailored to meet the needs of the city's working residents.
"It's the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and yet one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty, and the rest are seemingly trapped in a state of anxiety," he told NBC's Kristen Welker.
Mr Mamdani's stunning victory over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo in June 24's primary election has some party figures worried that his democratic socialism could feed Republican attacks on Democrats as too far left ahead of 2026's midterm elections. Business leaders have also expressed concern about his policies.
Democrats have struggled to find a coherent message after their resounding loss in the November elections that saw President Donald Trump return to the White House and his Republicans win control of both chambers of Congress. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in June showed that a majority of American Democrats believed their party needs new leadership and to be more focused on economic issues.
Earlier on June 29, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents part of the city, told ABC's This Week that he wasn't ready to endorse Mr Mamdani yet, saying that he needed to hear more about Mr Mamdani's vision.
Other prominent New York Democrats, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have also thus far declined to endorse Mr Mamdani.
Mr Trump, himself a native New Yorker, told Fox News Channel's Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo that if Mr Mamdani wins the mayoral race, "he'd better do the right thing" or Mr Trump would withhold federal funds from the city.
"He's a communist. I think it's very bad for New York," Mr Trump said.
Asked about Mr Trump's claim that he is a communist, Mr Mamdani told NBC it was not true and accused the president of attempting to distract from the fact that 'I'm fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed.'
He also voiced no concern that Mr Jeffries and other Democrats have not yet endorsed his candidacy.
"I think that people are catching up to this election," he said. "What we're showing is that by putting working people first, by returning to the roots of the Democratic Party, we actually have a path out of this moment where we're facing authoritarianism in Washington, DC."
Mr Mamdani's criticism of Israel's war in Gaza has set him apart from many mainstream Democrats and prompted allegations of antisemitism, which he has fiercely denied.
Earlier in June, during an appearance on the political podcast The Bulwark, Mr Mamdani declined to condemn the pro-Palestinian phrase "globalise the intifada," which some Jews view as antisemitic and a call to violence.
Mr Jeffries told ABC that Mr Mamdani needed to "clarify his position" on the phrase to reassure Jewish New Yorkers.
Pressed again on June 29, Mr Mamdani said it was "not language that I use" but again did not condemn it. He said he did not want to determine for others what words are permissible or impermissible, arguing that Mr Trump has done that by targeting pro-Palestinian activists for their speech.
"We have to root out that bigotry, and ultimately we do that through the actions," he said.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, elected as a Democrat, is running as an independent in November's election after Mr Trump's Justice Department dropped corruption charges against him, fueling accusations of a quid pro quo that he has denied. The Republican nominee is Mr Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, and lawyer Jim Walden is also running as an independent.
Mr Cuomo has not yet decided whether to remain in the race as an independent. REUTERS
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