Zohran Mamdani on Principles & Values NY State Rep and 2025 NYC Mayoral candidate

I've called Trump a "despot" and "fascist," and I believe it

MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI: After President Trump said that, I said, "Yes."

Q: So you do?

MAMDANI: That's something that I've said in the past. I say it today. And I think what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement.

Q: You've also said in the past that President Trump has engaged in an "attack on our democracy." You've called him a "despot." Do you still believe President Trump is a threat to the democracy?

MAMDANI: Everything that I've said in the past, I continue to believe.

I'm a Democratic socialist, not a Communist

MAMDANI: No, I am not. And I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I'm from, who I am, ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I'm fighting for. And I'm fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower, that he has since then betrayed. And when we talk about my politics, I call myself a democrat socialist in many ways inspired by the words of Dr. King from decades ago who said, "Call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country." And as income inequality has declined nationwide, it has increased in New York City. And, ultimately, what we need is a city where every single person can thrive.

Would be first Muslim mayor of NYC

MAMDANI: It's been difficult to have to deal with the regular and repeated smears and slander upon my name and on the very basis of my faith. And I think what's so sad is that this is but a glimpse into what life is like for many Muslim New Yorkers and many New Yorkers of different faiths who are constantly being told that they don't belong in this city and in this country that they love.