Zohran Mamdani reflects on his first 100 days as NYC mayor, and what else is left to do — Newsmakers

[0:00] When you were campaigning, President Trump did have names for you. [0:03] He called you a communist lunatic, and you had names for him. [0:06] You called him a fascist. [0:07] Now that you've met with him, that you've spoken with him multiple times, [0:11] do you still think he's a fascist? [0:12] Yes. [0:13] And do you tell him that? [0:14] Yes. [0:15] Look at the war in Iran today. [0:17] We're talking about a federal administration that has spent close to $30 billion [0:21] killing thousands of people at a time when working-class people across this country [0:27] cannot afford the bare minimum. [0:29] Are you included in these conversations about the future of the party? [0:34] In a group chat, or you think... [0:36] I don't know. Do you have a WhatsApp chat? [0:37] New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was swept into office on a promise of affordability [0:42] that resonated with so many voters. [0:45] It's been just over 100 days that he's been in office, [0:48] so I came to City Hall to ask him about his accomplishments, [0:51] the economy, the war in Iran, and his relationship with President Trump. [0:56] We're in a different place. We're in City Hall. [0:59] From the last time that we spoke, it's been over 100 days. [1:03] You've made inroads on some of your campaign promises. [1:06] On others, you have not. [1:09] What would you give yourself as a grade? [1:11] I will always leave it to New Yorkers to provide the grades. [1:14] What I will say is that I'm very proud of what the team was able to accomplish [1:17] over those first 100 days. [1:18] This was a time when, just on day eight, we delivered $1.2 billion to make universal childcare [1:24] a reality across our city. [1:26] This is a time where we secured more than $30 million in settlements with bad landlords, [1:31] repaired more than 6,069 apartments, a time where we were able to secure nearly $100,000 a day [1:38] for workers and small businesses that had been exploited by megacorporations and delivery apps. [1:43] And we showed that government can do all of these big transformative things while also [1:47] doing the little things, while also filling in 102,000 potholes in that same length of time. [1:52] You know, there are things that have been maybe more difficult to get started. [1:57] Police reform being one. [2:00] Another, critics will say that, you know, you promised to expand a rental voucher program, [2:05] but now you're trying to limit it. [2:07] Are you finding that it is harder to implement campaign promises now that you're actually [2:14] in the office? [2:15] I think this job comes with an immense amount of difficulty, but that's also because it has [2:19] an immense amount of possibility within it. [2:21] And when I ran for mayor, you know, we built our campaign around three central promises. [2:26] We talked about the importance of delivering universal childcare, the importance of making buses [2:30] fast and free, and how we believe that tenants deserve to rent freeze and rent stabilized. [2:35] And I'm proud of the fact that beyond the universal childcare, we also announced just [2:40] on Sunday that we were going to be speeding up buses for more than a million New Yorkers. [2:43] Because as you know, we have the slowest buses in America here in New York City. [2:47] Some of them are riding at an average speed of five miles an hour. [2:50] We're going to be putting up to six minutes back into New Yorkers' lives from each of these [2:54] trips. [2:55] And then when it comes to the rent guidelines board, we had six vacancies on that independent [2:59] board, and we filled all of them. [3:01] And we're now looking forward to the decision that they come to. [3:03] But I share this with all of you to give you a sense of where we are on what animated so [3:09] many, and how that coupled with just today's announcement of delivering on city-run grocery [3:15] stores within our first term, it shows people that the very things they were told they would [3:20] be wrong to believe in are, in fact, the ones that we can deliver on. [3:23] When will New Yorkers start to feel that promise of affordability? [3:26] I think there are many who are feeling it already. [3:28] You know, I think of a young mother who told me that she wouldn't consider having another [3:33] child until she heard the news that we were going to save working parents upwards of $20,000 [3:38] a year with free childcare for two-year-olds. [3:41] I think about even just the cyclist who would come up to me and tell me about the fact that [3:48] now that we've decriminalized what was previously a criminal summons for cyclists across the city, [3:53] how it's easier for them to get around, be treated the same as they would if they were driving [3:57] a car. I even just think about the city workers who've been at the heart of so much of this [4:03] accomplishment and so much of this work, even predating this administration, who for the [4:07] first time in a long time are getting some of that deserved recognition for what they [4:11] do to keep the city running. [4:13] One of the places where it seems a bit more challenging is on your promise around police [4:19] reform, especially because you and the commissioner don't seem to be on the same page. [4:23] When you look back at what you did promise on policing, especially when it's that particular [4:29] unit that deals with protesters, some accuse it of heavy-handed tactics, where do you stand [4:36] now? [4:37] I stand in the same place as I always have. [4:39] I'm committed to disbanding the strategic response group and decoupling our city's response [4:44] to protests versus threats of terrorism. [4:47] What we've seen is the bringing together of these two things when in fact they do not need [4:52] to be conflated. And I think part of what you're seeing in our administration is that we want [4:57] to deliver this in a manner that isn't just checking a box, but in a manner that both upholds [5:02] the sanctity of the First Amendment, the freedom of expression, of protest, and also does so [5:07] in a manner that keeps New Yorkers safe. [5:09] And in the same period of time, we have codified the fact that the NYPD will now release body-worn [5:14] camera footage within 30 days. We have stopped the prior administration's approach of giving criminal [5:20] summonses to cyclists. We have started to bring back that same commitment that we spoke of, [5:26] of not only keeping New Yorkers safe, but also delivering justice. We have also established [5:30] our city's first-ever Office of Community Safety, which will be tasked with delivering the kind of [5:36] innovative responses to the very crises that have long been pushed aside in New York City politics, [5:41] whether they be gun violence or the mental health crisis. This is the very work that our city [5:46] is taking on as an urgent task before it. But how will you disband that particular unit, [5:51] which arrested protesters, if the police commissioner doesn't have the same goal, [5:56] and if police see you as overly sympathetic to accusers who come forward and say, [6:03] the police were not acting right? Well, I would say that at the end of the day, [6:07] as the mayor of the city, if there is something that I believe we need to do, then we will do it. [6:11] And I am proud of the work that my police commissioner has been doing. And we are very [6:15] much on the same page in the need to deliver both safety and justice to New Yorkers. And to me, [6:21] it's not a question of if we will do this work, it's a question of when, and wanting to ensure [6:25] that we do this in a manner that we can look back on weeks, months, years after the fact and say, [6:29] not only did we do the right thing, but we did it in the right way. [6:32] You're a proud democratic socialist. It's clear Republicans plan to use you and that platform [6:41] as an attack point come the midterms. Do you feel pressure to prove that your brand of democratic [6:50] socialism works before the midterms? I feel pressure from New Yorkers to deliver for them [6:56] on their day-to-day needs. If Republicans want to attack a record of making it easier for families [7:02] to raise their kids in the city, of workers to get paid what they're owed, of New Yorkers to get [7:07] around the five boroughs, they can feel free to attack that. But what they will find is that the [7:12] reason so many people across the city and across the country have lost faith in politics is because [7:16] of that sense that politics has less and less of a relevance to their day-to-day needs. And in fact, [7:21] one of the most relevant things that we can be doing in our politics today is addressing the material [7:26] needs of working-class people. That's exactly what we focused on. [7:28] What I'm asking is whether you like it or not, you have been made to seem like a boogeyman of some [7:36] kind, right? From the Republicans, especially when you were running. So do you feel an added [7:42] sense of pressure nationally because of the face you've become of the Democratic Party and [7:48] specifically the progressive part of this party? [7:50] I'll be honest with you. I don't let myself think too much about what Republicans seek to portray me as. [7:58] I think about the fact that the power of an ideology is judged in the worth of its delivery. [8:04] And delivery, at the end of the day, is every single thing that we want to do. It's why I spoke [8:09] on Sunday about pothole politics as a way we describe the work that we do. Because for a long [8:15] time, Republicans have sought to describe themselves as being driven by the needs of working people, [8:21] when in reality we've seen a chasm in what they've actually delivered for those people. I mean, [8:25] look at the war in Iran today. We're talking about a federal administration that has spent close [8:30] to $30 billion killing thousands of people at a time when working class people across this country [8:37] cannot afford the bare minimum. And to be told that a city-run grocery store is implausible, [8:45] but spending more than $500 million a day to kill people in Iran and Lebanon is not only [8:51] plausible but necessary. It speaks to a broken kind of politics. And what we're showing is that [8:56] we can put forward not just our principles, but also the practical impacts of this work. We can [9:01] deliver universal childcare and change 6,700 catch basins. We can take on bad landlords across the city [9:09] and start to repave more than a thousand miles of roadway. We can do all of these things where [9:14] we've been told in the past, you can only do one. Has the war in Iran had an outsized impact specifically on the economy of the city? [9:21] Yes, the war in Iran has had an impact on the economy of this country. And even more than the economy, [9:26] it's had an impact on the people of this city and across this country. At the core of any war is a dehumanization [9:35] that takes place. And that dehumanization is not limited to any battlefield. It extends into the lives of people [9:41] across this country. And I spoke to a young Muslim woman who I had called after seeing the news that [9:47] she had been thrown to the ground at a subway stop. She told me that the first thing her attacker said [9:54] to her before he attacked her was, I wonder how many Iranians we killed today. That is what we are [10:00] allowing to take hold in our politics. And it is critically important for all of us to speak up, [10:06] not just from a position of politics, but frankly, even just from a position of morals. [10:09] Have you shared, I know you've spoken publicly about your concerns about this war, [10:15] but have you shared those directly with President Trump? [10:18] I'll keep the nature of the conversations with the president between the two of us. What I will tell [10:23] you is that it is no secret, not my concerns. I would describe it more as a deep opposition to this [10:28] war, a deep opposition that comes out of a concern for what our politics are incentivizing in this [10:37] moment, the killing of civilians, as opposed to the uplifting of working class people across this [10:41] country. [10:41] So I know you said, I'll keep the contents of those conversations between us. But when you were [10:49] campaigning, President Trump did have names for you. He called you a communist lunatic and you had [10:54] names for him. You called him a fascist. Now that you've met with him, that you've spoken with him [10:59] multiple times. Do you still think he's a fascist? Yes. And do you tell him that? Yes. And how does [11:05] he react? I think everyone saw in the conversation we had in the Oval Office after our first meeting. [11:10] What about your impressions? I mean, given the questions that have been raised, including on the [11:15] right, about his mental acuity in this moment, you know, posting online that he would end a [11:21] civilization, recently posting an image AI generated of himself that seemed to depict him as Jesus and then [11:28] deleting it. How do you assess that as somebody who has met with him, spoken with him? [11:34] You know, I've been quite clear with the president and also with the public of my deep disagreement and [11:40] opposition to so many of these policies. And I think that one of the few things that we have in common [11:46] is that we are both New Yorkers and we will both. And I think one part of being a New Yorker is both to [11:52] be honest and to be direct. And when I'm sitting with the president, we talk about places of potential [11:57] collaboration, whether it could be working together to deliver more than 12,000 homes, [12:03] the most homes delivered in a single housing development the city has seen since the early [12:07] 1970s. But we're also very clear about places of disagreement. And one place that I mentioned to [12:13] the president was on my views around ICE. I believe that ICE raids are cruel and inhumane. I believe they [12:18] do nothing to deliver us on the stated intent of public safety. And in the previous meeting that I had [12:25] with the president, I mentioned that just that morning, a Columbia student had been detained by [12:29] ICE. And I said that this was actually part of a larger pattern of five individuals who had been [12:34] detained in or around Columbia University. I gave him that list. About 30 minutes after the meeting, [12:40] he called me and said that he had now made the decision that he was going to release that Columbia [12:45] student. And to me, it also showcases the importance of continuing to make the case for our city and [12:51] its people, no matter if you agree or disagree with the person that you're speaking with. [12:55] He seems to like you. Are you and the president friends? [12:59] I would say that he's the president and I'm the mayor. And the basis of the relationship comes from [13:04] those two positions. [13:06] But other Democratic mayors have asked for people to be released from detention. They have seen ICE [13:12] presences in their cities that we haven't seen here in New York City. Why hasn't he had the same [13:18] approach to New York City that we've seen in Chicago, in Minneapolis, and other Democratic-led cities? [13:25] You know, I think in some ways that's a question for the president. In other ways, I think [13:30] to be a New Yorker and to be speaking to another New Yorker, there is a commonality that comes with that [13:37] where the president himself said that the better this city does, the happier he feels. That's something that [13:44] I feel the same way. The better the city does, the happier I feel. And so in those meetings, I seek to [13:49] always bring up things that are both honest about how we both feel and that would be transformative [13:54] for the city that we both love. And to New Yorkers, public safety is a prerequisite for the affordability [14:01] agenda. And then that affordability is something we want to deliver. And we know the number one crisis [14:05] facing New Yorkers is the housing crisis. You've inherited a $12 billion shortfall. [14:11] There have been job losses in the private sector that we haven't seen in other parts [14:15] of New York. And one of the things we talked about the last time we spoke was the concern among [14:22] businessmen that your socialist policies wouldn't be friendly to businesses. Has that shifted? I mean, [14:30] people like Bill Ackman, Trump supporter, billionaire, who really bet against you, literally, [14:35] with his money. Millions. Has that relationship changed? Do you talk to him now and get advice on [14:41] how to deal with these businesses and attract them here? I can't say that I get advice from Bill Ackman. [14:47] If I had done that, I wouldn't be sitting opposite you as the mayor. But I do speak to a number of [14:53] business leaders across the city. And while we see that both at a national level, there are troubling [14:59] economic signs and that New York City is obviously part of that national economy, we also look at a local [15:05] economy that sees the highest demand for Manhattan office space in over a decade, that sees the most [15:10] amount of venture capital raised in a single quarter since 2021, that sees the highest number [15:15] of Wall Street bonuses, and also an economy that we know still needs to strengthen so that every New [15:21] Yorker can feel that strength in their day-to-day life. Because no matter the statistics that I rattle [15:26] off, I can walk anywhere in this city and I can meet a New Yorker who feels as if their day-to-day [15:31] needs are even harder to afford today than they were the day before. And so to that end, we're [15:36] looking to also build more of an economy that reaches the extent of each parts of the five boroughs [15:43] and one that every New Yorker sees themselves as a part of. As part of our NPR Newsmaker series, [15:49] Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, which is headquartered here, told Stevenski he thinks [15:55] cities need to compete to attract businesses by giving tax breaks and incentives. He cited places [16:02] like Texas as very business friendly. And you came into, as I mentioned, this office with a tough [16:07] budget and significant job losses in the private sector. Are you willing to offer those kinds of [16:14] incentives to bring back some of the thousands of businesses that have left or shuttered over the [16:18] last few years? [16:19] You know, first, you are absolutely correct to describe this, what we inherited as difficult. [16:24] We're talking about initially a $12 billion fiscal deficit that through an immense amount of work [16:30] and savings and use of our own reserves, we were able to bring down to $5.4 billion. That's still [16:37] where it stands today. And it is the kind of fiscal deficit the city has not seen for a generation, [16:44] dwarfs even that of the Great Recession. What makes this distinct, however, unlike the Great Recession, [16:48] is it's a crisis purely of city government's making, not one of any external factors. It's [16:53] an inability to budget in an honest way to actually account for the expenses of what is in our city [17:00] government services. We are looking now for every potential saving and any example of fraud or [17:07] inefficiency or waste as something to eliminate entirely. Now, amidst all of that, we also want to [17:13] build a city that, in the words of Jamie Dimon, competes. Because I agree, there is no, we do not [17:20] have the right to be, it is not something that is, that we inherit to be the greatest city in the world. [17:25] We have to prove it and earn it every single day. And part of the ways that we do that, I don't think [17:31] it's necessarily through a government and policy of subsidy and tax breaks. I think it's through a [17:36] government that delivers the highest quality of public services across the country. I think it's by [17:41] ensuring that New Yorkers can look at streets that are paved, at potholes that are filled, [17:46] at a quality of life that has no competition, frankly. And I think a big part of this also that [17:53] I've heard from many business leaders, as well as New Yorkers across the five boroughs, is public [17:57] safety. And that's why it's been such a focus for us, is how do we drive down already record crime [18:03] to even lower levels, such that when businesses are thinking about where they want to open a business, [18:07] where they want to keep that business, they think of New York City. And we're excited by the fact that [18:12] not only has JPMorgan Chase opened their new multi-billion dollar headquarters, but also that [18:17] Amex has decided to build a new global headquarters here. The Bank of America has recommitted to a [18:22] long-term lease with the city. And that when we look at the World Cup coming in now less than 60 days, [18:27] that there's a multi-billion dollar economic opportunity that comes with that as well. [18:31] You talked about wanting to build stronger relationships with all kinds of New Yorkers, [18:37] but specifically Jewish New Yorkers. You drew significant support from liberal and leftist [18:42] Jewish Americans, Jewish communities. But you also drew a lot of skepticism. And there was a lot of fear [18:49] that your sharp criticisms of Israel would also translate into something else. You did not renew two [18:57] executive orders from your predecessor, one that adopted a broad definition of anti-Semitism, and another [19:03] that prohibited city employees from engaging in the boycott, divest, and sanctions movement against Israel. [19:07] And this drew some concerns from some Jewish groups here. Why did you make that decision? [19:12] So we made the decision coming into office that we would revoke all executive orders that the prior mayor had signed [19:18] after he was federally indicted. That was a moment at which many New Yorkers started to ask themselves, [19:24] what was the motivation of any one executive order? Was it driven by self-interest or was it [19:29] in fact being driven by what it should be, which is public interest? And we've also sought to show [19:35] that we are fully committed in fulfilling what we had spoken about over the course of the campaign [19:40] to not just keep Jewish New Yorkers safe across the city alongside each and every New Yorker, [19:45] but also to celebrate and cherish those same New Yorkers. And so over the course, for example, [19:50] of Passover, it's been an incredible opportunity for me to attend a number of seders, to host Jewish [19:57] City Hall officials at our home at Gracie Mansion for a seder, to sit there as staffers look for the [20:03] Afikomen, to get a better sense of what it means to lead a city with such incredible beauty and breath [20:10] of Jewish life across the five boroughs, and also to get a glimpse into the amount of service that so many [20:18] organizations within the Jewish community are providing, whether it was joining with an [20:23] organization on an airfield to give out food that they had procured for teachers in the community, [20:28] or if it was sitting with a Jewish New Yorker looking at, you know, Civil War era texts together, [20:36] it is all been a joy to be able to be the mayor of a city with such a flourishing community that I'm so [20:43] proud to represent. How will your office define anti-Semitism? So we actually have the office to [20:48] combat anti-Semitism here at City Hall. And one of their jobs is to not only define that, but frankly, [20:56] to conduct a listening tour to actually bring in the perspectives of Jewish New Yorkers from across [21:02] the five boroughs. You faced a lot of anti-Muslim rhetoric and fear-mongering around your faith and [21:09] the faith of many Americans. You know, an example that you'll bring Islamic law to New York City, [21:15] but you do turn to scripture to make political points, both from within your faith and from other [21:22] faiths. And you've, for example, in immigration, you quoted the Quran, you quoted the Bible. Should [21:27] there be a role for religion and politics? I think that religion is a part of so many New Yorkers' lives, [21:34] and it also provides a guide for many as to what it looks like to bring a morality into [21:44] a politics that is often missing. And what I mean by morality is a belief in the dignity of those who [21:49] are struggling. And we've seen religion used as a tool to divide, and I've instead seen it across the [21:54] city as a tool to actually find commonality amongst so many. Because the lessons of many scriptures, [22:01] they are similar in the empowerment of working people and in the belief that there has to be [22:06] something more than simply a desire of profit when it comes to delivering for people. You said, [22:12] we've seen religion used to divide. Are you talking about this administration? I think it is [22:19] something that is frankly not exclusive to any one administration. We're seeing it within this [22:24] federal administration. We've also seen it within both political parties in this country. [22:27] So much of the bigotry that I faced, it was not just in the general election. It was also in the [22:33] primary election. And the language that was used then was language that was used among and by Democrats [22:39] within a primary for this position. And we're speaking about a city that has more than a million [22:44] Muslims that call it home. And yet it's a city where so many are made to feel as if they're guests, [22:49] as if their belonging is forever in question. And I want this to be a city where every New Yorker, [22:54] no matter their faith, no matter where they were born, understands that their belonging is never in [22:58] question. Has that changed in your party? Because when we spoke, when you were the presumptive nominee, [23:03] there were still many Democratic leaders who would not endorse you and had severe criticisms for you [23:10] and at times said things directly about your faith. [23:14] I think that many are waking up to a New York City that is eager for a new era of politics and one [23:23] where there is a belief in that most sacred thing, which is what makes all of us New Yorkers. [23:30] And we define being a New Yorker as anyone who lives here. And we don't seek to bring back that [23:34] politics that has been almost a part of so much of the discourse across the city, across the country, [23:42] which is looking for different ways in which to define people such that we can always have those [23:46] who are excluded. Are there ever any times where you smile a lot? And even when people are maybe [23:54] insulting you, you still smile? Are there ever the kindest thing I can say in return sometimes? [24:01] Are there ever any times where you're like, I'm done being nice about this? [24:05] It is much easier for me. My natural disposition is to smile. However, there are things in our [24:15] politics that are worthy of being pushed back against. And I make sure to make that clear in [24:22] my own words and my own actions. In as much as there is so much that we're fighting for, I also make [24:27] it clear what it is that we will fight back against. Because what we see is that the kind of bigotry and [24:35] cruelty that has become endemic in our politics, it's not unique in that so many people across the [24:42] city face it. What makes that unique sometimes is the willingness to allow it to fester. And it [24:47] requires the kind of forceful pushback that I think has often been missing. [24:51] You are a leading voice in your party. You're the mayor of New York, but you are also a national [24:55] figure. Are you included in these conversations about the future of the party and what Americans [25:02] writ large want from this party? You know, in a group chat or you think? I don't know, [25:07] do you have a WhatsApp chat? Is there a group chat? I was going to say, I'm not in a group chat. [25:12] I don't know if they have it. You know, I think what has been really exciting is that [25:21] the hunger that I speak about for a new kind of politics, it doesn't feel specific to New York City, [25:25] it feels broader than that. And I think in our politics, we've often spent a lot of time [25:30] pontificating about the meaning of something. That is time that I believe we could spend doing [25:35] more of that thing. And I think that in delivering what it is that we've been speaking about over the [25:40] last more than 100 days, that in itself serves as the power of example for what can be done elsewhere. [25:45] I think about the path to so much that we aspire for in other countries. It all begins with one [25:52] example. And here in New York City, we're seeking to be an example for what it can look like to make life [25:57] more affordable for working people. Is your party ready for the midterms in the sense that there was [26:06] a message from American voters in the presidential election that they did not want what the Democrats [26:14] were promising or saying? Is that going to be different, do you think? I do. I think that what [26:21] we are going to see is a message that Americans across the country are fed up with what politics has [26:30] come to mean over these last few years. And I'm excited by a number of candidates right here in [26:36] New York City. We have Brad Lander who's running for Congress here in Manhattan in Brooklyn, Claire Valdez [26:41] running for Congress in Queens in Brooklyn. And I think what they show is the very kind of politics [26:47] that people have been eager to see on the national stage, a politics that understands not only will we [26:53] push back against the bigotry and cruelty that we've seen in so much of these last few years, [26:57] but also push for a dignity that too often it seems like we have to look for in the history books of [27:03] the Democratic Party and not in the present day. Okay. I can't let you go without asking. You went from [27:09] a one bedroom in Queens to a literal mansion. What are you doing with all the space? What's it like? [27:17] You never realize how small your one bedroom is until you try and move it into the larger [27:23] even bedroom that we have there. I'll be honest with you. It's pretty nuts to move into a space like [27:28] this. I don't spend all that much time there. Most of my time, frankly, is here at City Hall and around [27:35] New York City. I've tried to live life like the same New Yorker that I was before this, because so much [27:44] of how you see the world is informed by who you're seeing it with and how you're living in that world. [27:49] So if you spend every single day driving around in a tinted window, security detail, you will have [27:56] a very specific view of the city. That's why I'm looking to take the train, to bike around the city, [28:01] to walk around the city, because that's also how you actually meet other New Yorkers and you break [28:05] out of the bubble that so many have come to expect of politics, where politicians only seem to be [28:10] spending time with other politicians or the people who donated to make them politicians. [28:14] Is there anything you really miss about your old life? I used to only be about three blocks from [28:20] Steinway, and I definitely miss Steinway. But I can still see it very far, but it's still there from [28:27] the lawn. Mary Mom, Donnie, thank you for taking the time. Very welcome. We appreciate it. Thank you. [28:32] New episodes of Newsmakers can and will publish at any time. Stay caught up, follow or subscribe to [28:42] this program wherever you watch. Thanks for joining us on NPR's Newsmakers.