Zohran Mamdani RATTLES Trump: Dem star talks money, populism & 50 Cent with Ari Melber

[0:02] And throughout it all, we will, in the words of Jason Terrence Phillips, better known as Jadakiss or Jadakiss, be outside. [0:14] He put his boots on the ground and did his thing. [0:16] I appreciate that. [0:17] You can't, you know, the New York mayor shouting you out. [0:20] No, that's fine. [0:20] How could it be anything but a plus? [0:24] Brand new comments from the New York artist Jadakiss reflecting at our very table about Mayor Mamdani, not just quoting him, but doing so in his very first inaugural speech as mayor of New York. [0:38] We're now six months in. [0:40] Mamdani working on the budget, affordable housing. [0:43] There's a pilot program for the free child care that he promised as part of a more liberal agenda. [0:47] He's also become a progressive leader within and beyond New York state. [0:51] He's probably the most famous mayor in the country in either party, certainly drew attention for a warmer than expected meeting with Donald Trump, while still the two clashing over immigration. [1:05] And Mamdani stands by calls to abolish ICE and wanting to Trump-proof New York in the years ahead. [1:11] These are things we explore when he sat down with us, and you're going to hear from him directly right now. [1:18] Housing continues to be the number one cost that's pushing New Yorkers out of the city. [1:24] You know, I used to be a foreclosure prevention housing counselor. [1:27] I'd work with homeowners struggling to stay in their homes, and I found that this wasn't just an issue for tenants. [1:31] It was also for homeowners who were facing the possibility of delinquency on their mortgage because they were on the precipice of not being able to make ends meet. [1:39] And that was the case when I was a counselor. [1:41] It was the case when I was an assembly member. [1:42] It continues to be the case now that I'm running to be the mayor. [1:44] And it's the number one way that we can actually keep New Yorkers here is by ensuring that we bring down the cost of living specific to housing costs. [1:51] You talk about freezing rent. [1:52] Is that something that you view as a bold new thing or, as you've also mentioned, something that the mayor has the power to do that past administrations have done? [2:03] I think it's a mixture in that this clearly has precedent. [2:05] We saw the previous administration did this three times. [2:07] And we are living in a time of politics where politicians try to convince the public that there's nothing they can do. [2:14] And so to even have the idea that we could actually help people, it's seen as a departure from what so many are being told in this moment. [2:20] And freezing the rent, right? [2:21] This is about two and a half million New Yorkers in a city of eight and a half million. [2:25] The mayor has the power to freeze their rent. [2:27] I am saying I'm going to do that for four years. [2:29] And that's in stark contrast to the current mayor, Eric Adams, who's raised the rent by more than 12 percent and who decided that the person he saw his record most in anyone running for mayor was Andrew Cuomo. [2:39] Your campaign's making news with President Obama calling you. [2:44] He says you're impressive to watch. [2:46] Can you tell us what you talked about? [2:48] And do you want his endorsement? [2:50] You know, I appreciated that conversation with the president. [2:53] I appreciated his thoughts that he shared about our campaign, and I also shared with him that when I was facing the bigoted and racist attacks, especially that have amplified over the last few weeks, that I looked to his state of the union, a state of a more perfect union address as an inspiration for how to rise above the 24-hour news cycle of an electoral campaign and speak to the soul of the politics in our city and in our country. [3:16] And I really appreciated the model that he presented. [3:18] Your platform says you'll raise the corporate tax rate to 11 and a half percent, and you point out, just like neighboring New Jersey, that's 5B, and then tax the wealthiest 1 percent above basically people over millionaires, the flat 2 percent tax. [3:32] That's 4B. [3:34] Go ahead, 4B. [3:35] Okay. [3:35] And so what does that get you, and what do you say to people who are concerned that New Yorkers are already taxed enough? [3:42] So that would get you $9 billion, and then we also said that we would save an additional $1 billion through procurement reform, through the following of the independent budget office's analysis of hiring more fiscal auditors, and also by finally starting to collect on the fines and fees from landlords that owe the city currently about $800 million over a period of overall fines and fees of about $2.5 billion. [4:02] So this is our revenue plan. [4:05] This would more than pay for our economic agenda. [4:08] It would actually allow us to start Trump-proofing our city. [4:10] And what I mean by that is we're seeing right now what the Trump agenda portends for New Yorkers. [4:15] This is a man who ran a presidential campaign on the premise of cheaper groceries that is now trying to cut SNAP benefits to make it even harder to afford those same groceries. [4:23] And we have to protect the New Yorkers with the least from the attacks from the man with the most power in this country. [4:29] For too long, as Democrats, we've thought that simply fighting back against Donald Trump is a sufficient political message. [4:35] We also have to fight for something. [4:37] And so at the heart of my campaign is a commitment to make buses fast and free. [4:42] That would cost around $700 million. [4:44] That's something that fits firmly within the question of political reality. [4:47] It's just, do we have the political will to deliver it? [4:50] The other commitment is about universal child care. [4:52] This is something that would cost around $6 billion, something the governor is very much interested in and has been fighting for for quite some time. [4:58] And I appreciate not only her endorsement, but also the shared commitment on this question of affordability. [5:03] You have spoken about these financial plans you have, and you made a point on New York radio, which a lot of people listen to, to address 50 Cent. [5:11] And you know he's a critic. [5:13] He's a critic. [5:14] Of high taxes. [5:14] Let me just go ahead and then we'll play it. [5:16] Go ahead. [5:17] I didn't even know what my salary would be until I opened up Instagram and I saw this thing, which was like, 50 Cent offers Momdani X amount of money. [5:25] Yeah. [5:25] I was like, that's a very specific amount of money. [5:27] I was like, oh, my God. [5:29] Yeah. [5:30] Well, so now we'll go, we'll do this in reverse order. [5:33] Sorry. [5:33] He said, I'll give you $258,000 and a first class one-way ticket out of New York. [5:38] That's what you're referencing. [5:39] You know what I would say to you, 50, if you are indeed watching or anyone else who's watching this show, is I continue to think that having the top 1% of New York City who are making more than a million dollars a year, having them pay 2% more for an economic agenda that would transform every New Yorker's life, including their own, is something that is worthwhile. [5:58] And the reason I say including their own is when you see a city like ours that is underfunding its city agencies, that is pulling back on the most basic things like library services and trash cans, everybody feels the knock-on effects of that. [6:14] And my job as someone who believes deeply in the public sector is to ensure that we're delivering public excellence. [6:19] And that means every dollar that we raise, I want to be able to prove to you that it's every dollar that's being well spent.