Transcription
I'm joined now by New York City mayoral candidate Zoran Mdani. Thanks so much for joining me.
Thanks so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be on.
So, we've watched as House Republicans, led by Mike Johnson, have used you as the new boogeyman of the left. Mike Johnson's been speaking about you nearly every single day at his morning meeting where he's trying to justify using food assistance and healthcare as a cudgel against the American people in the shutdown. House Republicans' campaign arm also issued a memo this week vowing to make you synonymous with the Democratic party nationwide. Quote, "This isn't about one race in New York. It's a national story of a party bending the knee to socialism and the far left." And so, what's your response to Republicans and Mike Johnson in particular, basically using you as their new villain?
Look, if I was Mike Johnson and I was trying to distract from the fact that I was looking to throw 4 million Americans off their healthcare and more than a million New Yorkers off of their SNAP benefits, then I too would be looking for anything else that I could speak about. And what we have shown in this city is unlike Donald Trump and the Republican party, we don't just speak about the affordability crisis, we're actually going to deliver a lower cost of living for New Yorkers. And I'm excited for the Republican party to use the examples that we will bring in governing this city as an example of what the Democratic Party can do, because what those examples will show is that we can take the most expensive city in the United States of America and make it affordable.
You know, you have been relentlessly focused on affordability. And so the irony of that is that Republicans ran a largely successful campaign in 2024 predicated on that exact issue. And so what does it say that they're attacking you for your campaign where you focus on affordability, and it's them who are doing identity politics now, which of course the polling and the early vote suggest have been largely a failing strategy?
Well, I I think it shows that they're terrified of the prospect of us actually delivering on the same message that they ran on, because it would show in such stark contrast what they do with power and what we do with power. Right? This is a president who ran on cheaper groceries, who's now spending $300 million to remodel a White House ballroom, the same amount of money that could give SNAP benefits to 100,000 New Yorkers. So, the the contrast is one that would be too great for them to bear. And that's what we have the opportunity to show is that we don't just diagnose the affordability crisis in the lives of working-class New Yorkers. We also deliver on that same crisis.
You know, you have brought young people in as the result of that exact issue at a time when the Democratic party was basically purging young voters and Republicans were making historic inroads on those voters. And so what's the best piece of advice for the rest of the party uh looking to make those same inroads with with a a cohort of voters that they've been largely unsuccessful with?
I think we have to leave the days of speaking with condescension to young people behind. We have to treat young people as we would any other participant in our democracy. Treat their struggles as legitimate. And what I found time and time again is that this affordability crisis, it is pushing young people out of this city or making them feel the only way that they could stay is if they live in their parents' apartment. And that's not a tenable situation for a city that's looking to give rise to the dreams of so many across the five burrows. It's young people who have been canvassing, young people who've been phone banking, young people who've convinced their parents, their aunties, their uncles, their grandparents to come out and vote. I had a grandmother come up to me not too long ago who said, "My granddaughter told me that I couldn't come home if I didn't vote for you." This is this is an example of of what's built this campaign.
How do you think about the issue of affordability in the broader context of of other issues, specifically threats against democracy, and so a lot of Democrats were focused on threats against democracy, especially at the hands of this of what would ultimately become the Trump administration. And rightfully so. We're seeing a lot of those threats that we were worried about play themselves out either as bad or worse than we had anticipated. But, you know, the Democrats relied on on a threats to democracy message in 2024. And we saw the extent to which the economy and affordability were actually more important. Now, we're in a little bit of a different boat because we are, as I said, seeing those those those threats uh the potential for threats to democracy really play themselves out in a big way. But there's an uncertainty now given what we learned in 2024 about leaning into the threats to democracy messaging. And so how do you think about both of those issues relative to the other? Are they mutually exclusive?
I think we have to understand the authoritarian administration and the affordability crisis as twin crises that New Yorkers are facing at the same time. And I think often about what Fiorello LaGuardia once said many decades ago, which is you cannot preach liberty starving land. You know, we cannot speak to New Yorkers struggling to afford their groceries, their child care, their public transit, their rent, about the importance of democracy solely as a value or as an ideal. We have to speak to them also about the ways in which that democracy can deliver for their material needs. Doing both of these things, I think, is critical because it shows that we care about the very essence and the fabric of our democracy across this country. And also that that democracy, if it does not deliver for working people, it is still insufficient.
Yeah. Um, I have to uh I have to bring down the the level of discourse here and get your response to something that Donald Trump said on on his uh recent episode last night of 60 Minutes. Uh he was asked about you and he said uh he said this >> Zorhan Mandami, 34-year-old Democratic socialist. He's the >> communist, not socialist, communist. He's far he's far worse than a socialist. >> Some people have compared him to a left-wing version of you. Charismatic, breaking the old rules. What do you think about that?
Well, I think I'm a much better-looking person than him. Right.
So, that was Trump saying, quote, "I think I'm a much better-looking person than him." Again, I uh I apologize for degrading the level of discourse here, but your response to Trump proclaiming that he is a better-looking guy than you.
You know, I I was asked about this this morning at our Sunrise press conference. And I said then what I'll tell you now, which is that my focus is on the affordability crisis, and if the president wants to speak about grocery prices or lowering the cost of living, I am absolutely ready to do so.
Now, on a little bit of a different tack here, in the last week of this campaign, there were some comments made by your opponents surmising how you would react to 9/11 happening now. And so, what does it say about the position that Andrew Cuomo sees himself in that that is what's coming out of his campaign? That's the type of rhetoric coming out of his campaign in the final days.
This is the kind of desperation that we're seeing from Andrew Cuomo. Desperation which is coming from a recognition that these will be his final days in public life. And he is realizing that the very thing that he has cared about throughout the entirety of his political career, power is slipping away. And we've long known that he was Donald Trump's puppet in this race. And now we're seeing that he's Donald Trump's parrot. He's describing diversity as a weakness. He's doing so while confusing which black host on MSNBC he's speaking to. He's said that I don't understand New York City values or New York City culture. I don't understand 9/11. He's laughed and agreed with a radio show host who said that I would cheer another 9/11. And all of this while trying to lead New York City, a city which is a celebration of people from across the world of all faiths and backgrounds. And it shows us that so much of the bigotry and the division and the racism that we've been fighting and facing is not simply within the Trump administration. It is also something that has seeped into our party as well. Because the person that I'm describing was at one point thought of as a leader of this party. And I think we owe it to ourselves to not just say goodbye to that kind of leadership, but also to this kind of a vision that seeks to narrow who belongs in this city. And that's what I hope to do after November 4th.
So, of course, election day is tomorrow. folks who are already voting right now and so what's your message to folks who who haven't yet voted are deciding what to do, people who haven't returned their ballots, what what do you say to them uh with just about a day left uh in this race?
Look, to New Yorkers who are still making up their mind, if you're happy with four years of rent increases on rent-stabilized tenants, you should vote for Andrew Cuomo. If you're happy for waiting for buses that never come, you should vote for Andrew Cuomo. If you're happy with having to go on StreetEasy to find a place you could afford in Jersey City, you should vote for Andrew Cuomo. But if you want a city that you can afford, a city that actually celebrates the working people that makes this place so special, then this is the campaign for you. We are looking to deliver on an affordability agenda that would take the most expensive city in the United States of America and make it one that every New Yorker can continue to call their home. And you can go to zaharanfornyc.com/vote. You can find out where your polling place is. Please bring your friends, bring your family, bring everyone you know in your life, even the people that annoy you. Let them know this is their opportunity.
Awesome. Well, I I can just say it has been a pleasure watching uh watching your campaign uh surge and thank you so much for the time today. Congratulations on what you've achieved so far and uh looking forward to seeing where you go in the future. Thank you again for taking the time.
Thank you, my friend. And when I'm the mayor, we're going to have slightly better internet. That's right.
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