Zohran Mamdani

Subterms

    More stories

    • 188 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Mamdani attends Israelis for Peace vigil after his 7 October statement draws ire from Israel

      by

      The New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday evening attended a vigil in Manhattan convened by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation group of Israelis in New York who have rallied weekly since 2023 to call for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.Sitting in Union Square alongside New York City comptroller Brad Lander, his one-time rival for the Democratic nomination who has been campaigning for him, Mamdani listened as speakers at the event – which marked the two-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel – called for an end to the killing and to Israel’s occupation, and for equal rights for Palestinians.Earlier in the day, Mamdani drew ire from Israel over his statement on the anniversary in which he commemorated both the Israeli victims from that day and Palestinian victims from Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza.“Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more. I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities,” Mamdani said in the statement on Tuesday.He denounced Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government for launching a “genocidal war” in Gaza as well. He also accused the US government of being “complicit”.“A death toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble,” Mamdani wrote. “Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered.”He said the last two years had “demonstrated the very worst of humanity” and called for an end to Israeli “occupation and apartheid”.Mamdani’s statement prompted a sharp rebuke from the Israeli foreign ministry on X, accusing him of “acting as a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda” and “spreading Hamas’s fake genocide campaign”.“By repeating Hamas’s lies, he excuses terror and normalizes antisemitism. He stands with Jews only when they are dead. Shameful,” the post said.Israel stands widely accused of committing genocide in Gaza, where its ongoing military assault has killed tens of thousands of civilians, some 20,000 of them children, caused famine and mass starvation, and razed much of the Palestinian territory. Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant are wanted by the international criminal court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.Mamdani is no stranger to criticism for his views on the Israeli government and its war in Gaza, and the issue has proved a major flashpoint in the mayoral race.He has won significant support from certain segments of the Jewish community particularly among younger and more progressive voters, and faces stronger opposition from more conservative groups. A recent Marist poll found 35% of Jewish voters supported Mamdani, as does the same proportion supporting Cuomo. (The poll was taken before Eric Adams dropped out of the race.)The democratic socialist has faced criticism over his past refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada”, which some view as a call to violence. He has since said he would discourage use of the phrase. He also recently reiterated his intention to order the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu should he travel to New York.His October 7 statement on Tuesday attracted pushback from other pro-Israel voices. David Frum, a writer at the Atlantic and former speechwriter for George W Bush, wrote on X: “The chilly formulaic language about the 10/7 atrocity … the intense angry passion of the denunciation of Israel’s self-defense … together they arrestingly reveal what the author cares about and what/who he does not care about.”Fox News anchor David Asman called the statement “obscene”. He wrote on X: “The ‘very worst of mankind’ is what Mamdani supporters are on the streets today celebrating…‘honoring’ the beasts responsible for Oct 7. He supports a ‘global intifada,’ responsible for 9/11 and Oct 7. He should not be mayor of a city hit so hard by Jihadists.”Noa Yachot contributed reporting More

    • 175 Shares179 Views

      in US Politics

      Make green great again: Can appeals to the wallet make climate policy an election-winner?

      by

      At stuffy United Nations press conferences, in swanky auditoriums and at sticky socialist dance parties, one word was on everyone’s lips at this year’s Climate Week NYC: affordability.The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, said under that under President Trump the United States is “returning to commonsense energy policies that focus on affordability”. The former energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, said Democrats must focus on renewable power’s ability to shrink power bills to win elections. And supporters of the almost certainly soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, trumpeted their efforts to link green policies with efforts to lower city residents’ rent and make transit affordable.The attempt to link everyday cost issues to global warming is not new. The concept was a key part of the Green New Deal, a progressive policy platform popularized by youth-led climate group the Sunrise Movement and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. Joe Biden picked up the framing in the White House, naming his signature green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.Now, as utility bills soar around the country, Americans on every part of the political spectrum are framing their energy and climate proposals as ways to protect ordinary people’s pocketbooks.More on that after the most important reads from the week.Essential reads

      Revealed: Europe losing 600 football pitches of nature and crop land a day

      UK fracking ban to be brought forward as Labour counters Reform promise

      Israel’s ecocide in Gaza sends this message: even if we stopped dropping bombs, you couldn’t live here | George Monbiot
      In focusView image in fullscreenEvery year, Climate Week in New York City brings together government officials, corporate actors, scholars and activists for a vast array of climate-focused events, timed to coincide with the United Nations general assembly.This year, the Trump administration’s anti-environmental blitz cast a massive shadow over the event. In appearances through the week, White House officials aimed to peg its deregulatory agenda as a win to lower Americans’ bills, with Trump calling green energy a “scam” and Wright saying: “The more people have gotten into so-called climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”Climate advocates attempted to expose those statements as false while getting Americans on board with green policies on the grounds that they can cut costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, unveiled a proposal to speed new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump repealed earlier this year. Its name: the Cheap Energy Act.It’s a framework that Jennifer Granholm, who served as US energy secretary under Biden, said she expected as climate slips down the list of political concerns for Americans, while economic worries rise. “My guess is you’re not going to see a lot of politicians using the word ‘climate’, because people see that as a nice-to-have [concern], not a must-have, and right now they’re in the must-have mode,” she told reporters over avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is key.”Those well to Granholm’s left also called for a focus on affordability in the climate fight. But many called for more ambitious solutions that deliver more immediate benefits. Instead of merely tinkering with the tax code to incentivize green technology buildout – a hallmark of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less wonky, “green economic populist” campaigns such as fare-free transit and the build-out of decarbonized public housing.“These kinds of programs do have decarbonization benefits, but they’re extremely important for starting to build up a mass base [who have] trust in public institutions and trust in the government,” Batul Hassan, labor director at the left-leaning thinktank Climate and Community Institute, said at a panel.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionMamdani, the socialist who achieved a stunning win in the New York City mayoral primary this summer, embodies this kind of agenda, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, progressives gathered for a dance party at the legendary Sounds of Brazil music venue to celebrate the candidate’s success.“It has long been understood that if we’re going to build a mass movement, people need to see the connection between the transition to renewable energy and spending less money,” New York City comptroller Brad Lander said in an interview with the Guardian at the party, shouting over the thrum of Charli xcx.Messaging is important, but merely talking about affordability is not enough, Alexa Avilés, a New York City council member and democratic socialist, told the Guardian at the Mamdani event. Trump, for instance, has failed to deliver on his promise of lowering bills while handing massive benefits to oil giants and other corporations. And many Democrats are also guilty of prioritizing their corporate donors’ interests, Avilés said.“Some people talk about working-class folks, but then they make policies that are designed for the rich. We’ve been living with that frustration for a long time,” she said. “We need to focus on actually bringing relief to people. And we see that when we really center people over profit, people respond to that. People can tell who is for real.”Read more:

      US energy department cracks down on workers’ use of climate crisis language

      Trump administration spending $625m to revive dying coal industry

      Los Angeles vowed to host the Olympics without breaking the bank and environment. Can it? More

    • 213 Shares109 Views

      in US Politics

      Zohran Mamdani’s Fifa fight is a blueprint for the left to re-engage with sports | Leander Schaerlaeckens

      by

      If Zohran Mamdani had not intended it as a campaigning opportunity, he probably wouldn’t have worn a full suit – the universal candidate’s uniform. But there he was, the 33-year-old Democratic nominee for November’s New York City mayoral election; the upstart democratic socialist who has stormed on to the national stage with a wildfire campaign on an unabashedly progressive platform of affordability in one of the world’s most expensive cities. Last Sunday, he mingled in an Arsenal bar in Brooklyn, flanked by fellow Gooner Spike Lee, peering at the big screen with a solemnity befitting the showdown with Manchester City.Mamdani is the overwhelming favorite in the race to run the United States’ largest city, sitting 15 points clear of his nearest rival, Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani is potentially New York’s first Muslim mayor. And also its first soccer mayor.He has waded into those waters repeatedly in the last few weeks. He launched a petition pushing back against Fifa’s dynamic pricing model for tickets at the 2026 World Cup, and demanding a price cap on resale tickets and an affordable allotment reserved for local residents. He announced the news through another of his instantly viral videos, flashing the social media savvy and political acuity that excites his supporters so much, along with a surprisingly soft touch on the ball. Then he appeared on the Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast.There’s some political theater to this, of course. Mamdani’s petition is a very, very long shot to change Fifa’s policy, even if he wins the election, as is expected. The petition’s signup page on his website includes a handy box you can check to pledge to his campaign. But Mamdani was shrewd enough to understand that Fifa was there to be dunked on, and that the expected hyperinflation on World Cup tickets – America’s disposable income is why the sport has moved so many signature events stateside, after all – dovetailed nicely with his affordability agenda.Besides, Mamdani made a good point by highlighting that tickets for the World Cup matches staged in Mexico do have a cap on resale pricing, thanks to exactly the type of government policy he espouses. It isn’t such a long ideological leap for the candidate promising free bus fares and childcare, city-owned grocery stores, rent freezes, and a $30-per-hour minimum wage, to plead for New Yorkers to be able to attend World Cup games in their own backyard.Mamdani treading into a kind of soccer populism, however, is less interesting for the impact it may have on the sport than the distinct possibility that he’s happened upon an untapped and useful force in American politics.For a great many years, major figures on the right have cloaked themselves in America’s favorite sports as a means of connecting with voters. George W Bush was an unrepentant sports nut, and a onetime owner of MLB’s Texas Rangers. John McCain was forever calling into sports talk radio shows. Mitt Romney was quick to remind the nation of his role in rescuing the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics from failure in 2002. Sarah Palin styled herself as the nation’s “hockey mom.”And then there’s Donald Trump, who has embraced sports fully and leverages them constantly to score political points. He lambasted the NFL when much of the league kneeled during the national anthem in a reckoning with racism. Trump’s first vice-president, Mike Pence, went to an NFL game only to summarily walk out when the players kneeled, as expected.Trump criticized the Cleveland Guardians for changing their name, blaming “cancel culture.” He turned up at an Atlanta Braves game just to do the racist tomahawk chop. He became the first sitting US president to attend a Super Bowl, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in February – even though Trump has historically been foggy on which the state the Chiefs are from (Arrowhead Stadium is in Missouri, for the record). Trump retains close ties to the New York Yankees ownership. He has boasted of great baseball talent in his youth – although this was a brazen lie. He showed up to tennis’ US Open and was greeted with a chorus of boos, and will pop into this week’s Ryder Cup as well.There’s even a plausible theory out there that Trump only ever ran for president because he’d been spurned by the NFL’s club of owners, a group he was desperate to belong to, when he attempted to buy the Buffalo Bills. True or not, it’s clear that sports are essential to Trump’s political aims.By contrast, Democratic party leaders have largely kept sports at arm’s length for the last decade. Barack Obama was a notable exception – he made sure to be seen playing enough basketball to litter the internet with compilation reels and even And1-style mixtapes, the better to distract from how much he liked to golf, or how bad he was at bowling. (Albeit not nearly as bad as George HW Bush.) Obama was the first president to publicize his own March Madness bracket. But the long-running custom of presidential nominees of the major parties cozying up to sports, in whatever way they could, ended on one side of the aisle. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris mostly left sports alone.Wittingly or not, Mamdani has spotted an opening to tether the left to sports. And with American football, baseball and basketball feeling all tapped out for political clout, soccer – whose American fans seem to skew progressive anyway – is an ideal foil for his platform. What sport, after all, better embodies unfettered, latter-day capitalism and its parasitical relationship with its own customer base than soccer? What sport works harder at making itself unaffordable to its traditional fanbase? Where else will Mamdani find better similes for his kitchen-table issues?Tax the rich? Let us now speak of the world’s richest sport, wherein everybody likes to dodge their taxes.There are limitations, of course, to how much a young, future mayor – maybe, probably – can budge his party in an ossified landscape dominated by a stubborn class of elders. But if nothing else, Mamdani might write a new playbook, or at least a new play or two, to get the left back into the conversation around sports.

      Leander Schaerlaeckens’ book on the United States men’s national soccer team, The Long Game, is out in the spring of 2026. You can preorder it here. He teaches at Marist University. More

    • 238 Shares189 Views

      in US Politics

      Someone has to drag the US out of the hellscape of Trumpism. Who better than AOC? | Arwa Mahdawi

      by

      Quiz time, and the category is American gerontocracy. Here goes: how many sitting Democratic members of Congress have died in office since November 2022? The answer is a mind-boggling eight. While Republicans aren’t dropping dead at the same rate, they’re arguably clinging to power for longer than is dignified. Last year, a Texas journalist discovered Kay Granger, a high-ranking octogenarian Republican congresswoman, had stopped coming to work because she was in a senior living facility, suffering from “dementia issues”. And while he is not in a facility yet, Donald Trump’s nonsensical ramblings, including a recent weird and completely fictitious story about his uncle knowing the Unabomber, suggest he may be suffering some sort of issue with his mental acuity.I’m not trying to be ageist here (the older I get, the more worried I become about ageism). I’m simply setting the scene. Behold: the US is ruled by out-of-touch elites who would rather die at their desks than cede power to fresh blood. Meanwhile, many Americans are frustrated with the status quo and desperate for change. You can see this in the excitement around Zohran Mamdani, the incoming Democratic mayor of New York City – unless the billionaire class can pull off an upset. You can also see it in a recent poll that found more than half of likely Democratic voters prefer socialism-aligned politicians such as Bernie Sanders (who, to be fair, is 84), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Mamdani to establishment figures like Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.Ocasio-Cortez and her team can certainly see it, and they appear to be poised to seize this political moment. Rumours are swirling that the 35-year-old congresswoman is considering a run for president or the Senate in 2028. The latter move would probably mean facing off against Schumer, who is about as old-guard as you can get and has not yet endorsed Mamdani. If AOC beat him (which polls show is very plausible), it would be a massive shift for the future of the Democratic party. A presidential nomination, however, is obviously the real prize.The US doesn’t have a great record when it comes to rallying behind female presidential candidates. Is there really a chance that the first Madam President could come in the form of a millennial progressive?Ocasio-Cortez, whose charisma took her from obscurity to a household name in record speed, certainly should not be underestimated. Even Trump has expressed grudging admiration for the congresswoman. “She’s got a little spunk … a little something that’s good,” he told Fox News on Sunday, in reference to an Axios report about AOC’s ambitions. But he added: “I don’t think her philosophy can come close to winning.”It’s not entirely clear, however, what AOC’s “philosophy” is these days. When a 28-year-old Ocasio-Cortez unseated longtime incumbent Joe Crowley in a New York primary election in 2018, she was unapologetically leftwing. “Working-class Americans want a clear champion and there is nothing radical about moral clarity in 2018,” she stated.Since then, the political machine has wrung some of that clarity out of the congresswoman. “AOC is just a regular Democrat now,” New York magazine lamented in a 2023 piece that charted what some of her base see as a shift to the centre. Last year she lost the endorsement of the national leadership of the Democratic Socialists of America because of her equivocation over Palestine.While AOC is one of the few US politicians to have termed the situation in Gaza a genocide, she has also disappointed many pro-Palestine progressives (including me) with her laundering of the Biden-Harris administration’s blank cheque to Israel. During her primetime slot at the Democratic National Convention, for example (where no Palestinian Americans were invited to speak on the main stage), AOC repeated Kamala Harris’s refrain that she was “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza”. Which wasn’t entirely a lie: you’re not going to get tired when you’re doing absolutely nothing to stop a bloodbath, are you?But beggars can’t be choosers. There is no perfect saviour coming to rescue us from the hellscape that is US politics. Indeed, the way things are going, it’s not even a given that there will be free and fair elections in 2028. We must coalesce around whoever is best placed to chart a way out of Trumpism. And AOC, for all her flaws, has the sort of fight that is needed. I hope that she is not written off as too left or too right or too female before she has a chance to get started. More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Zohran Mamdani withdraws from ABC town hall in Kimmel protest

      by

      Zohran Mamdani, the New York Democratic mayoral candidate, has announced he is withdrawing from a televised town hall hosted by a local ABC station in protest of the network’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s talkshow.ABC indefinitely pulled Kimmel’s late-night show off air on 17 September after the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses if the network did not act against Kimmel. Kimmel had criticized the Trump administration’s reaction to the killing of rightwing youth organizer Charlie Kirk.The suspension sparked backlash from politicians, media figures and free-speech organizations, and it has prompted boycotts and protests against both ABC and its parent company, Disney.Mamdani, who was set to participate in a town hall event with New York’s WABC on Thursday, said he would no longer take part.“I am withdrawing not as an indictment of the local affiliate or the hard-working journalists, but rather in response to the corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility in upholding the freedom of the press,” Mamdani said on Monday during a news conference.“We cannot understand this moment of authoritarianism as solely coming from the White House, when it is also characterized by the cowardice of those in response to it.”He also mentioned his opponents in the mayoral race, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Eric Adams. The Trump administration has reportedly explored offering Adams a position in exchange for the incumbent’s dropping out of the race, with polling suggesting the contest would tighten in favor of Cuomo, whom the president prefers to Mamdani.Mamdani said: “I am running to be the next mayor of the city to finally make clear what it looks like to stand up, not just for this city, but also for the constitution.“We have to understand who suffers in these moments. It’s not just a question of Jimmy Kimmel himself, it’s also a question of the engineers, the writers, the musicians who are feeling this attack on the very city they call home. The message that it sends to each and every American across this country is a message that [free speech] is no longer a right that can be counted on, but rather that it is the government which will determine what should and should not be discussed, what can and cannot be spoken.”Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.On Friday, Variety reported that Disney and Kimmel were working on a compromise that would bring his talkshow back on air.Meanwhile, a report from Front Office Sports explored some potential complications to such a compromise. The outlet reported that Disney could be facing a choice between putting Kimmel back on air and completing a multibillion-dollar deal with the National Football League to swap the NFL Network, RedZone brand, NFL Fantasy Football and other media assets for a 10% stake in Disney-owned sportscaster ESPN.Mamdani, a state assembly member from Queens, won the Democratic nomination in June, defeating Cuomo. With less than two months until the 4 November general election, Mamdani has continued to hold a commanding lead in the polls.A recent poll showed Mamdani with 43% support among registered New York City voters. Cuomo, who is now running as an independent, received 28% support in the poll.Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa polled at 10% support, and Adams, also running as an independent, polled at 8%. Nine percent of respondents said they were still undecided.Kathy Hochul, the Democratic New York governor, has endorsed Mamdani in his race to become the next mayor of one of the world’s most prominent cities. More

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Why have top Democratic leaders failed to endorse rising star Zohran Mamdani?

      by

      He’s the hottest politician in the US, who managed to attract thousands of young and first-time voters to the Democratic party in his unexpected win in the New York City mayoral primary.With the Democrats suffering from historically low approval ratings, one might have thought the party would rally round Zohran Mamdani, to learn lessons from the media-savvy 33-year-old and bask in his soaring popularity.That hasn’t happened.The most influential political figures in New York state politics have instead studiously avoided any public endorsement of Mamdani, the self-described democratic socialist who has a 22-point lead over his nearest challenger.New York’s two senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, are yet to back Mamdani. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader who represents a Brooklyn district, hasn’t endorsed him either – despite Jeffries endorsing a candidate for mayor last time round.View image in fullscreenKathy Hochul, the New York governor, endorsed Mamdani on Sunday, describing him as “a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable” in an op-ed for the New York Times – while stating she was not “aligned with him on every issue”.But the hesitation from New York’s top Democrats, all considered centrist politicians, has led to anger from the left. Bernie Sanders, the progressive Vermont senator who has campaigned with Mamdani, blasted the party as “crazy” in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.“He was in the polls, 2%, all right?” Sanders said, referencing the lowly start Mamdani had to his campaign.“He wins, wins by a lot. He has over 50,000 volunteers, people enthusiastic about his campaign. He brings out people, registers all kinds of new people, brings out non-traditional voters. Now, if you were a Democratic leader in a party which is now in the doldrums, you would be jumping for joy: ‘Oh, my God, this is just the guy we want. I want to see this all over the country.’Sanders described the lack of endorsement from party grandees as “absurd”.View image in fullscreenAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez was more diplomatic when asked about Mamdani last week, saying she was “very concerned about the example that is being set”, but it’s clear that grassroots political activists are furious.“Democratic leaders who refuse to endorse winners of Democratic primaries do massive damage to the party and should be politically defenestrated,” Ezra Levin, the co-executive director of progressive organization Indivisible, said.“We don’t have time for this post-primary bullshit in the middle of an authoritarian putsch.”Some from the center of the party have begun to urge Democrats to rally round Mamdani. Jamie Raskin, the Democratic congressman from Maryland, gave a glowing review of Mamdani in an interview with the New York Times this week, describing him as a “significant and inspiring leader”.“In these times, the Democratic party needs to stick together with the maximum solidarity and focus,” Raskin said.“Even though I’m not a New Yorker and have never been a New Yorker, I feel that Democrats must stand together to defend not only our party but our constitution and our country.”Raskin added: “He really wants to rebuild an FDR coalition that is fundamentally committed to the success of the working and middle classes in his city.”Some believe there are political reasons for the caution. With midterm elections looming next year – Democrats desperately need to pick up seats in Congress if they are to stymie Donald Trump’s agenda – the president and the rightwing media have already begun demonizing Mamdani as a “communist”. There appears to be a belief on the right that tying Mamdani to the wider Democratic party could be beneficial for the Republican party.View image in fullscreen“I do think some of the hesitation is because on some of the national Democrat level and some of the donor level, there is some type of fear that an association with a socialist mayor will hurt Democrats nationally,” said Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist and founder of Trip Yang Strategies.“That is a traditional viewpoint. I respectfully disagree with that. [But] I’m sure that people nationally who have this viewpoint have relayed this viewpoint to the top Democratic leaders in New York.”Before Hochul backed Mamdani over the weekend, she had shown tacit support: Yang pointed out that Hochul had sometimes spoken positively of Mamdani, something she has not done about Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, or the incumbent Eric Adams. Both, though, have abandoned the Democratic party to run for mayor as independents.Still, the stalling comes as Trump appears to be wading into the race. Trump advisers, according to numerous reports, have discussed offering Adams a job in the administration if he drops out of the race – something they believe would benefit Cuomo’s chances.View image in fullscreenMamdani’s campaign pledges to tax the very wealthiest New Yorkers appear to have deep-pocketed donors worried, and his stance on Israel’s war in Gaza may also have had an impact. Schumer and Jeffries are both staunch supporters of Israel, while Mamdani has repeatedly criticized the country, and described the situation in Gaza as a genocide – as have many human rights groups, including some from Israel.For Sanders, however, the motive comes down to money. In the CNN interview Sanders referenced a New York Times report that wealthy New York business leaders had met on Tuesday to, as the Times put it, “plot Mamdani’s defeat”.“So what you have is an oligarchal group in New York. But you know what they’re worried about? They’re not just worried about Mamdani. If Mamdani wins in New York, the idea will go all across the country. That in fact, you can take on the oligarchs, and you can beat them. That at the end of the day, grassroots organizing, ordinary people, working-class people, standing up and fighting back, are more powerful than the oligarchs and all of their money.“That is what the oligarchs are afraid of. That’s what the Republicans are afraid of. That is what I fear the Democratic leadership is afraid of.” More

    • 150 Shares139 Views

      in US Politics

      Kathy Hochul backs Zohran Mamdani in race for New York City mayor

      by

      Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, has endorsed Zohran Mamdani in his run for mayor of New York City, a major boost for the democratic socialist.Writing in a New York Times opinion piece, Hochul said: “In the four years since I took office, one of my foundational beliefs has been the importance of the office of New York governor working hand in hand with the mayor of New York City for the betterment of the 8.3 million residents we both represent.”“The question of who will be the next mayor is one I take extremely seriously and to which I have devoted a great deal of thought. Tonight I am endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.”In a post on X linking to the column she wrote: “New York City deserves a mayor who will stand up to Donald Trump and make life more affordable for New Yorkers. “That’s @ZohranKMamdani.”Mamdani welcomed the endorsement in a post on X. “I’m grateful for the Governor’s support in unifying our party, her resolve in standing up to Trump, and her focus on making New York affordable. I look forward to the great work we will accomplish together. Our movement is only growing stronger,” he wrote.The endorsement suggests that centrist Democrats, some of whom have been wary of Mamdani’s campaign, may be willing to back the 33-year-old.Mamdani won the Democratic primary in June, overcoming the establishment candidate Andrew Cuomo with progressive promises to freeze rent, introduce a $30 minimum wage and increase rent on the wealthiest New Yorkers.With a message of change and a savvy social media presence, Mamdani turned out thousands of new voters, and polling on the mayoral election shows him comfortably ahead of Cuomo, who is now running as an independent candidate. Mamdani also has a large lead over Eric Adams, the unpopular incumbent mayor who is also running as an independent, and the Republican Curtis Sliwa.Yet Hochul, the most powerful Democrat in New York, had resisted endorsing Mamdani or any other candidate for mayor, telling journalists in June: “Obviously, there’s areas of difference in our positions.”The governor appears to have come round, however, having met with Mamdani in recent weeks. Hochul, who is running for re-election next year, released her first campaign ad in late August, casting herself as a straight-talking “fighter” who will stand up to Donald Trump.Mamdani’s victory has inspired more than 10,000 progressives to consider a run for office, the Guardian reported in August, and earned big-name endorsements from progressive Democrats like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during the campaign.Yet the center of the party has appeared wary. Senior Democratic figures in the state, including the senator Kirsten Gillibrand and the House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, are yet to endorse anyone for mayor.Chuck Schumer, the influential Senate majority leader who represents New York, has also yet to endorse in the race. Schumer is a staunch supporter of Israel, while Mamdani has repeatedly criticized the country’s war on Gaza, and described the situation there as a genocide, as have many human rights groups, including some from Israel. More

    • 188 Shares129 Views

      in US Politics

      As Starmer’s popularity tanks, what can Labour learn from Zohran Mamdani’s success in New York?

      by

      Progressives in the UK and US are grappling with the same question. Why have rightwing populists become so much more successful at tapping into public concern? And why are so few politicians on the left connecting with ordinary people?Barely a year after taking power in Britain, Labour’s popularity has collapsed with unprecedented rapidity against surging support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.In the US, a year after Joe Biden’s defeat, the Democrats are still derided by swathes of voters and remain at a loss for how to take on Donald Trump’s unique brand of politics.But while Labour and the Democrats languish in nationwide polls, there are exceptions. In New York over the summer, Zohran Mamdani rose from little-known assembly member to social media sensation and heavily favoured Democratic nominee in November’s mayoral contest.His success in the Democratic primary comes on the back of a highly impactful people-powered campaign that looks likely to propel him to victory. A poll for the New York Times this week concluded that Mamdani held a commanding lead over his three rivals for the mayoralty, including the scandal-hit incumbent, Eric Adams, and the multimillionaire former governor Andrew Cuomo.What if anything, can Labour learn from his success?It’s the economy, stupidPolitical observers in the UK believe Labour has a communications problem. But for good comms, you need substance. For Mamdani, that has come in the form of a laser-sharp focus on the economy and affordability.According to the NYT/Siena poll this week, 49% of likely voters thought Mamdani would perform best on affordability issues, compared with 23% who said the same of Cuomo and 10% for Adams.“Elections are almost always about very, very fundamental things,” said Matthew McGregor, the chief executive of 38 Degrees who is a former digital adviser to Ed Miliband and worked as a digital campaign strategist in Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.“Mamdani has got an agenda that clicks with people’s real lived experience of a city that has become just farcically expensive, doesn’t work for working-class people, and where there is very stark inequality between people in the boroughs and the rich parts of Manhattan,” he said.Claire Ainsley, a former Labour policy chief who now runs the centre-left renewal project at the Progressive Policy Institute, a US thinktank, said: “He’s highlighted the cost of living and affordability, and that’s right – that is the major issue that’s bothering Americans. Even if inflation is under control, cost of living is a big problem.”By comparison, Labour’s first year in power has been characterised by constantly changing policy priorities. Before and after being elected, Starmer has variously talked about his six first steps, six “milestones”, five “missions” and three “foundations”.Most recently, the prime minister has sought to reset his government by announcing a “phase two” focused on delivery, including the economy – but for many Labour MPs these constantly shifting priorities betray a frustrating lack of vision that makes it difficult to connect with the public.Champion compelling, costed policiesWith his focus on affordability, Mamdani has identified the key problem for many New Yorkers. Crucially, he is also presenting clear and compelling solutions.His policies include free bus transport, a rent freeze on the city’s 2.3m regulated apartments, a crackdown on bad landlords and commercial rent control, free childcare for parents starting at six months, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030.“His answers aren’t ‘Have you read through my 12-page white paper on breaking down planning so we can get New York building again?’. It’s not ‘We’re going to make work pay by encouraging businesses to invest’. It’s ‘We’re going to make buses free, we’re going to fill in the grocery deserts’,” McGregor said. “Practical, meaningful things that people can grasp and understand.”Mamdani is seeing off criticism about the feasibility of his promises by setting out clearly how they will be paid for – imposing a 2% tax on the top 1% of residents earning more than $1m annually, and raising New York City’s top corporate tax rate from 7.25% to match neighbouring New Jersey’s at 11.5%.For its part, Labour is implementing a whole slate of progressive policies that are very popular with voters – strengthening renters’ and workers’ rights, including a ban on fire-and-rehire practices, increasing the minimum wage, cutting down hospital waiting lists and making it easier to see a GP.The trouble is, these are not being properly championed. Ministers seem reluctant to bang the drum for some of their most popular moves, sometimes for fear of angering business. Last year, Downing Street disowned a press statement that called P&O Ferries a “rogue operator” for past fire-and-rehire practices after the firm threatened to pull out of an investment summit.Craft an overarching story – and pick a sideDavid Axelrod, a former strategist to Obama who then advised Ed Miliband in 2015, memorably said Labour’s campaign that year failed because it could be summed up with: “Vote Labour, win a microwave.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionHis point was that Labour in 2015 offered voters a set of loosely connected transactional promises but lacked any overarching narrative. Many believe this is a problem plaguing the current Labour government and a key to explaining the success of Trump in the US and Farage in the UK.Both Trump and Farage have clear narrative stories to tell about the problems of the country and their proposed solutions. So does Mamdani. McGregor said: “He wants to be a politician that says this whole system isn’t working, and we’re going to change things in a bigger way. Politics is a vibes-based business in the modern media environment, and everything you do is a demonstration of whose side are you on.”He added: “I think you can learn from Mamdani without saying we have to be more leftwing. Those policies need to connect to that bigger story that you’re telling. Farage is telling a story, and Trump is telling a story, and Mamdani is telling a story about the country, its challenges and problems and who’s to blame for them.”That final point – picking a side and identifying your adversaries – is key. Ed Owen, a former UK government special adviser during the New Labour years who is now a visiting fellow at the centre-left US thinktank Third Way, said: “We on the centre left are great at being rather po-faced, rational, logical, and establishing ourselves inadvertently as the defenders of the status quo that most people hate.“We are in a period of history where people’s faith in politics and politicians is at an all-time low. Insurgent political figures like Mamdani, and also on the right, are good at positioning themselves as agents of change.”Get social media-savvyEven when you tick all those boxes – a focus on people’s biggest concerns, popular policies and a compelling overarching narrative – you need a way to cut through to the public, including to voters who don’t follow politics closely.Mamdani is a hugely talented communicator who has built a huge presence on social media. His masterful campaign videos and direct, easy style are shared with 1.4 million followers on TikTok and 4 million on Instagram. Unlike most politicians, at 33 he is a social media native.“These TikTok videos, I think, are a really compelling and interesting manifestation of something,” McGregor said. “Understanding the modern media environment and the fact that huge swathes of people consume information in completely different ways to how they did five, 10, let alone 20 years ago.”The decline of traditional media means many voters consume news only through snippets on their social media feeds. The only UK politician with a major TikTok presence is Farage – he rivals Mamdani’s reach with 1.3 million followers.Despite the efforts of successive No 10 comms chiefs, the UK government has been slow at adapting to new forms of communication – though Starmer and other ministers are increasingly popping up on alternative platforms such as digital-only outlets and parenting podcasts.Owen said: “We’ve got to be able to communicate where people are – and that’s increasingly on social media channels – in the form they want. And we’ve been really bad at it.”Be an authentic local voiceMamdani is a very New York success story – and one that observers say can’t be simply copy-pasted to the UK or other parts of the US. “It isn’t as if this is some sort of template you can just transpose to any political environment,” Owen said.Ainsley said: “If there is a lesson to be drawn, it’s about the importance of authentic candidates that speak to the voters that you need. Clearly, his victory has energised parts of the left, but they are not representative of the mainstream of America, that is where the midterms and the next presidential election will be fought.“He’s played to the base that he needed, which is a narrow selectorate in New York City. He’s got conviction, and one of the things that the swing voters who’ve moved away from the Democrats over time have said to us is that they want politicians with conviction – but they also want candidates that have got the competence and credible policies that they think are going to meet their everyday needs.” More