Democratic nominee and self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani sought to downplay former President Barack Obama’s decision not to endorse him over the weekend, with just one day remaining in a high-profile New York City mayoral race.
According to the New York Post, Obama spent the weekend campaigning for Democratic New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, but did not visit New York City to publicly support Mamdani. The two spoke by phone, though few details of their conversation have emerged.
“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.
“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,” he added.
The Mamdani campaign suggested that mayoral endorsements were “beneath” Obama, though the former president has endorsed mayoral candidates before, including Bill de Blasio in 2013.
Since winning the Democratic primary in June, Mamdani has struggled to unite moderates in the party. Support from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries came only after months of deliberation. Jeffries even stated over the weekend that he didn’t believe Mamdani’s far-left platform represented the future of the Democratic Party.
Mamdani also attempted to frame his independent rival, Andrew Cuomo, as President Trump’s pick for mayor, falsely claiming the former president had endorsed the ex-governor.
“We have long known that Andrew Cuomo is Donald Trump’s puppet in this race,” Mamdani said, hours before his campaign released a statement criticizing the supposed “endorsement.”
Trump has not officially endorsed anyone, saying only on 60 Minutes:
“I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m going to pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.”
