The foundation for Zohran Mamdani’s upstart bid to become a democratic socialist mayor of New York City began, oddly, with his borrowing a campaign strategy from President Trump.
In November, Mr. Mamdani set out for parts of the city that had supported Mr. Trump to find out why. The answer was affordability. Mr. Trump had promised to deliver it, and for many New Yorkers, that was enough.
Mr. Mamdani said he learned a lesson. He committed to a promise to make the city more affordable, adopting a campaign vow that he said Mr. Trump has shown no interest in keeping.
“Both Donald Trump and our campaign can see the disillusionment in politics, the inability for so many to celebrate crumbs that cannot feed themselves and their families,” Mr. Mamdani said in an interview on Wednesday after he became the likely winner of the Democratic primary.
“The difference is that Trump seeks to exploit this sentiment with no actual desire to address it,” he added.
In Mr. Mamdani’s meteoric rise from unknown state lawmaker to potential mayor, he managed to maintain his message discipline on affordability. Make buses free, freeze the rent, offer free universal child care.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
