Zohran Mamdani downplays Barack Obama's snub just a day before the election
The former president campaigned over the weekend for New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill. However, he did not go to New York City to support the Socialist mayoral candidate.
Mamdani in New York/ Adam Gray
Zohran Mamdani, the Socialist candidate for mayor of New York City, sought to downplay the lack of endorsement from former President Barack Obama over the weekend on the eve of one of the most closely watched elections in the country.
"I appreciated the call with President Obama and his support for the movement that we have created," Mamdani told reporters in City Hall Park early Monday morning in remarks reported by the New York Post.
Mamdani's position comes after Obama accompanied and campaigned over the weekend for New Jersey's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Mikie Sherrill.
However, the former president did not go to New York City to support Mamdani. They only chatted on the phone.
"I appreciated his words. I appreciated his time, and I appreciate this movement for putting us on the brink of delivering us a new city in this place," Mamdani said.
Meanwhile, the socialist took the opportunity to attack his rival, independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, whom he branded as Trump's "chosen one" for mayor.
"We have long known that Andrew Cuomo is Donald Trump’s puppet in this race," Mamdani said, just hours before his campaign released a statement denouncing the "endorsement."
All this despite the fact that President Trump has not endorsed any candidate in the race. "I'm not a fan of Cuomo for better or worse, but if I have to choose between a bad Democrat and a communist (...) To be honest, I will always choose the bad Democrat," the president said on 60 Minutes on Sunday.
Mamdani and antisemitism
"Zohran Mamdani’s rise from campus radical to a prominent candidate for the position of mayor of New York City is not just a local story: it is a clear manifestation—and warning—of how radical anti-Zionism has become mainstreamed under the banner of populist “democratic socialism,” drawing on family influence, extremist endorsements, and a network that increasingly blurs the line between anti-Zionism and outright antisemitism," the report highlighted.
In this regard, the report details Mamdani's career and how his leadership grew. It also discusses his father's controversial views, a professor at Columbia University, on Israel, as well as Zohran's creation of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Bowdoin College, his previous positions and statements, and it introduces the anti-Israel advocates backing his mayoral candidacy.
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