Not long ago, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was demonized by leaders of both political parties. On Thursday night, the 34-year-old democratic socialist was celebrated as a political force, the face of the region’s sports renaissance, even the leader of “Mamdanistan.”
In a rally with Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that drew thousands to a Brooklyn theater, the emboldened mayor delivered a fiery message to Democratic leaders in Washington — and even those considering 2028 presidential bids — as he worked to elevate a slate of likeminded candidates in Tuesday’s New York primaries.
“People often ask me what I think of the state of the Democratic Party. This slate here today is our answer,” Mamdani declared. “The Democratic Party must change.”
“The party of the past will not be what leads us into the future. We need a Democratic Party with backbone.”
He shared the stage with three congressional candidates, including two running against Democratic incumbents. All three identify, or have identified, as democratic socialists. They promised to “abolish ICE,” condemned the “genocide” in Israel and vowed to “tax the rich” if elected.
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Mamdani endorsed political organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier over Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in New York’s 13th District, which includes parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
Mamdani is also backing former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running against incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th District. And in New York’s 7th, he’s supporting democratic socialist state Assembly Member Claire Valdez against outgoing Rep. Nydia Velazquez’s handpicked successor.
ICE wasn’t laying siege to cities with the budget of a military and murdering Americans then. That’s why there’s majority approval for abolishing it.
Why not reform it so they don’t lay siege to cities and murder?
Because that’s a fantasy. The people in ICE are in it because they want to be doing this shit and are overjoyed they can be doing it in this way. Neither of the murderers were new to the organization. All the training and imagined culture of professional government service didn’t stop them from walking American streets with faces covered and then shooting American citizens. No one that participated in that can ever be trusted with authority ever again. Many of them should be imprisoned. You can’t reform the gestapo.
Why are you so precious about an agency younger than most voters?
The Gestapo was the Nazi secret police whose purpose was evil. In contrast, the purpose of ICE is to enforce immigration laws. Some police officers are bad but not all. If you abolish ICE, who will enforce immigration laws?