- 3 months ago
This edition of India Today Global focuses on the high-stakes New York City mayoral election with candidate Zoharan Mamdani and President Donald Trump's fiery intervention, US foreign policy towards Nigeria and China, and the Gaza crisis with political scientist Norman Finkelstein.
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00:00Hello and welcome, I'm Geeta Mohan and you're watching India Today Global.
00:16Now just a day to go before New York City gets its new mayor and possibly, as trends suggest,
00:21its first Muslim mayor. Yes, Zahran Mamdani is leading in polls and as pollsters predict,
00:27could become the Democrat Socialist to assume the mayoral role for New York City. But his
00:33victory poses a challenge for President Donald Trump, who in a surprising move has thrown his
00:38weight behind former Democrat Governor and now Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo. A report
00:45by Mahashweta Lala.
00:50The clock is ticking for Democratic candidate Zahran Mamdani as the mayoral race for the
00:56New York City enters the final leg. As pollsters predict victory for Mamdani, President Donald
01:03Trump has thrown his weight behind Independent candidate and former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
01:10Mamdani faces competition from former Democratic Governor Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis
01:18Sliver. During an interview, Trump contradicted the interviewer when she called Mamdani a socialist.
01:24He said, Mamdani is a communist and not a socialist. He further added that if Trump were to choose
01:31between a former bad Democrat and a communist, he will pick a bad Democrat.
01:38If somebody's going to be a communist mayor of New York, it's a fluke if he gets in. There are a lot of failed people that he's running against. I mean, we have failed, you have inferior candidates or something, because it's impossible to think that New York City can have a communist mayor. He's a communist. He's not a socialist, by the way. There's a big difference. He's a communist. He's down and
01:49dirty. He's a communist. He hates police. He wants to get rid of all police. I mean, how can a policeman? He hates Jewish people. And yet he's got Jewish people supporting. He hates Jewish people. So it comes through the White House, the funding for New York and for everybody.
02:19And I'm very generous. And I was always very generous with New York, even when you had opposition there. But I was always very generous. But I wouldn't be generous to a communist, a guy that's going to take the money and throw it out the window, because you're talking about hundreds of billions of dollars.
02:35And we're not going to let somebody get into office and squander the taxpayer money from this country. We're not going to let it happen.
02:45But Zohran Mamdani was not far behind. He reacted to Trump's endorsement of Como with this message posted on X.
02:53Mamdani's popularity in polls have surged as his campaign focused on housing affordability, free public transport and childcare.
03:04But Mamdani's support base has not been restricted to the youngsters only.
03:09He also reportedly got a call from former President Barack Obama.
03:15Obama praised Mamdani's campaign against his rivals.
03:1834-year-old Mamdani's social media posts and his campaign style has attracted large followers.
03:27In a recent post, Mamdani spoke in Arabic to the NYC residents with Middle East background.
03:34Mamdani had won the primaries. If he wins the NYC mayoral election, Mamdani will become the first Muslim mayor of NYC.
04:01Uganda-born Mamdani's father, Professor Mahmood Mamdani, is a respected political thinker.
04:08His mother, Meera Nair, is a renowned Indian-American filmmaker.
04:13But despite having Indian lineage, he does not enjoy a fan base in India.
04:19His criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has earned him the ire of Indians.
04:24Many perceive him as holding an anti-India position.
04:29With Mahashweta Lala, Bureau Report, India Today.
04:33But it's not only Zohran Mamdani who is making headlines in the U.S.
04:41Another Indian-born and Democrat, Ghazala Hashmi, who is running for the post of Lieutenant Governor in Virginia, is stirring things up.
04:49She spoke in an exclusive interview to India Today Global and dispelled doubts cast ahead of the final poll.
04:56Listen in to her conversation with my colleague, Rohit Sharma.
04:59You know, a lot is going on in the country right now, you know, especially when it comes to people of a certain color, you know, certain religion.
05:10You know, what's your message to Virginians, you know, who probably are distressed by looking at what's going on in America?
05:16Absolutely. And I think one thing I've heard loud and clear is that Virginians do not like the direction that the second Trump administration is taking us in.
05:29And and Virginia is such a complex state already.
05:34It's home to hundreds of different immigrant communities.
05:39You know, just in our local schools here in the Richmond area, we have over 100 languages that are spoken by our own students.
05:48And Virginia has been a welcome home for many, many different immigrants, as well as refugees and so many diverse people.
06:01And so Virginia wants to make sure that we are inclusive, that we are proud of the diversity that we have and that we are supporting everyone that lives here.
06:14And I've heard that on the campaign trail. And that continues to give me hope.
06:19And I certainly see that reflected in the number of different people that we have running for elected office.
06:28Our Virginia General Assembly is a representative of the diverse communities as well.
06:36We've really seen increased representation, both in the House of Delegates, as well as in the Virginia Senate.
06:45Islamophobia. And we're seeing that play out in New York, too, you know, with Zohran Mamdani's campaign.
06:50Like America has changed. Right.
06:52And what's your message to somebody, you know, who probably doesn't feel welcome in America or who stayed in America for so many number of years and are hesitant to share their roots, be it either Indian roots or their religious roots?
07:06How, you know, just out of, you know, all this stuff that we're seeing, if there's one thing that you would want to tell to the minorities, what would that be?
07:16Well, that was the impetus for me to run for office, actually, in 2019, to prove to myself that I actually belonged in this country.
07:25I'd lived here for 50 years and I needed that validation.
07:29And the fact that I was elected, that I flipped a red seat, blue, and that I won a competitive seat by 10 points, very much confirmed for me that people in this country and people in Virginia are genuinely focused on making sure that we continue to make progress.
07:51You know, my campaign in 2019, my tagline was Ghazala Hashmi is an American name.
07:59I asked voters to help me prove that, and they did resoundingly.
08:04And that continues to give me hope for ourselves, for America, and for the communities that we build here.
08:11As reports of killing of large number of Christians in Nigeria came, U.S. President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, said the U.S. military could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out airstrikes to stop the killings of Christians in the African country.
08:29Earlier, President Trump had also criticized South Africa for the persecution of white South Africans.
08:35Seems like the American president is on a mission.
08:37U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out airstrikes to stop what he called the killing of large numbers of Christians in the African country.
08:52You're on Nigeria. Just wanted to ask you, do you envisage U.S. boots on the ground?
08:58Could be. I mean, a lot of things I envisage. A lot of things.
09:02They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria.
09:06And they have other countries very bad also.
09:10You know that. That part of the world very bad.
09:13They're killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers.
09:17We're not going to allow that to happen.
09:19But the Nigerian government has denied persecution or genocide of Christians in Nigeria.
09:25The report or notion that there is a Christian persecution or genocide in Nigeria is false.
09:33False both from the premise and the conclusion.
09:36It is not supported by data.
09:39Earlier in a post on Truth Social, Trump posted that if killing of Christians continue,
09:44then U.S. will stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria.
09:47He also said that U.S. will go guns a-blazing to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists committing the horrible atrocities.
09:56Replying to Trump's post, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hexet said,
10:01The Department of War is preparing for action in Nigeria.
10:05If the Nigerian government fails to protect Christians, emit reports of violence in the country.
10:10Nigerian government says it welcomes U.S.'s help to fight Islamic insurgents,
10:15but as long as its territorial integrity is being respected.
10:19We haven't been given the opportunity to have F-15, F-18, and F-22.
10:25And it is hard to get that from America for now.
10:28But these are the areas that we need that kind of cooperation from the American government.
10:33Our soldiers have the capability to deal with this thing.
10:37So we do not require the American soldiers boots on the ground.
10:41Nigeria, a country of more than 220 million people and around 200 ethnic groups,
10:47is divided between the largely Muslim North and mostly Christian South.
10:53Islamist insurgents such as Boko Haram, an Islamic State West Africa province,
10:59have wreaked havoc in the country for more than 15 years, killing thousands of people.
11:04But their attacks have been largely confined to the northeast of the country, which is majority Muslim.
11:10While Christians have been killed, the vast majority of the victims have been Muslims.
11:17It's not only the Christians they are killing.
11:20They are killing Joshua and not Christians too.
11:23But they are coming to assist.
11:25We should allow them, but we should not just depend on them,
11:28because it's only God that can really save us from this situation.
11:33In central Nigeria, there have been frequent clashes between mostly Muslim herders
11:38and mainly Christian farmers over access to water and pasture.
11:43While in the northwest of the country, gunmen routinely attack villages, kidnapping residents for ransom.
11:51With Mahasweta Lala, Bureau Report, India Today.
11:58Days after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in South Korea,
12:03both countries have agreed to set up military-to-military channels to de-conflict and de-escalate any problems.
12:10In a statement on ex-U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hexert said,
12:14he and his Chinese counterpart, Minister of National Defense Dong Jun, made the decision following a phone call.
12:21Hexert said, following his meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Malaysia,
12:26the ministers agreed that peace, stability and good relations are the best part of our two great and strong countries.
12:34According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
12:37most of them and more than 90 communication channels between the U.S. and Chinese governments
12:43went dormant during Trump's first term as U.S. President from 2017 to 2021.
12:50China went on to cut the fuel links with the U.S. military in 2022 under Joe Biden,
12:55when the then House Speaker, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan.
13:02Tensions eased following a meeting between Biden and Xi in November 2023 with the two leaders
13:08also agreeing to resume high-level military-to-military communications, but nothing further.
13:14This is the first reset.
13:16But what does this reset mean for the two countries and more so for the geopolitical dynamics across the world
13:23and the new world order?
13:25You can watch a detailed analysis on Statecraft on India Today Global's YouTube channel.
13:32Now, Donald Trump has perceived tariffs as the best way to boost the country's economy
13:39and a major policy decision to make America great again.
13:43But an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case on tariffs, according to Trump,
13:47will be significant in American history as it will determine the country's economic strength and security.
13:54The case will come up for hearing on the 5th of November in a post on Truth Social.
13:59Trump said, and I quote,
14:00Next week's case on tariffs is one of the most important in the history of the country.
14:05If a president is not allowed to use tariffs, we will be at a major disadvantage
14:10against all other countries throughout the world, especially the majors.
14:15In a true sense, we would be defenseless.
14:17Tariffs have brought us great wealth and national security in the nine months that I have had the honor to serve as president.
14:25The Trump administration heads to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.
14:29They will have a face-off with small businesses and a group of states who contend most of the tariffs it has put in place
14:35are illegal and should be struck down.
14:38If the court agrees with the businesses, the government will also likely have to refund some of the billions of dollars
14:44it has collected through the tariffs, which are taxes on imports.
14:49The ruling, if not in Trump's favor, will also upend his trade policy, including the global tariffs announced in April.
14:57Trump further added that he will not attend the hearing personally, stating that he didn't want to distract from the decision.
15:03The hearing will also decide whether Trump has the legal authority to impose tariffs by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
15:13Trump used the power to raise tariffs on countries.
15:16One such was 50% tariff on India for purchasing Russian oil.
15:21Trump is the first president to invoke the statute, which often has been used to apply punitive economic sanctions to adversaries
15:29or against adversaries to impose tariffs.
15:32U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson said he expects the Supreme Court to hold or to uphold the IEEPA-based tariffs.
15:41But if it strikes down the tariffs, Besson said in an interview,
15:44the administration will simply switch to other tariff authorities, including Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974,
15:52which allows broad 15% tariffs for 150 days to calm trade imbalances.
15:58I'm quite optimistic, and Shannon, what I can tell you is that because of what the Chinese did on October 8th,
16:08threatening to put export controls on any rare earth products that they produce that had 0.01% of rare earths produced in China,
16:18that they were going to try to control those, and the president was able to push back using his IEEPA powers.
16:25If that's not use of an emergency power at an emergency time, I don't know what is.
16:32As a fragile ceasefire holds or really doesn't in Gaza, the city remains scarred.
16:40Hospitals lie in ruin.
16:43Refugee camps now are under threat, and millions wait in fear for the next outbreak of violence.
16:51To unpack this crisis for us, political scientist Norman Finkelstein joins us.
16:58He has been a fearless critic of Israel's policies and Western double standards.
17:02Professor Finkelstein, thank you so much for joining us.
17:05Let's begin with your assessment of what's happened in Gaza following the fragile ceasefire.
17:09Is it holding? Is it not?
17:11What's happening in Gaza today is the hostages held by Israel, excuse me,
17:23the hostages held by Hamas have been released.
17:28And beyond that, the other 19 points of President Trump's so-called ceasefire plan
17:38will be quickly forgotten.
17:42The situation will return to what it was before October 7th,
17:49with the big exception that Gaza is no more.
17:55The place has been pulverized, decimated, reduced to rubble.
18:01There's nothing there.
18:02And Israel will have achieved its fundamental aim of, as it said from day one,
18:12to make a Gaza unlivable, or to give the people of Gaza two choices,
18:19to stay and starve or to leave.
18:23And they will figure out ways to leave.
18:28Everything else in the plan is complete nonsense.
18:32Most of the Arab countries, not most, all of the Arab countries,
18:39simply agree to anything Trump says,
18:44and then they walk out and they forget it.
18:50Well, Professor Fingolstein, the world and many Arab countries included
18:54have credited Trump.
18:56How do you see Trump's role in the Israel-Palestine peace process?
19:00President Trump has one concern only.
19:08What's good for President Trump?
19:11He doesn't have, you know, the expression from Louis XIV,
19:16l'état sa moi, the state, that's me.
19:20He conflates the interests of the state with his own personal interests.
19:26Now, in general, that's not incorrect.
19:29He's a member of the ruling, the economic ruling class.
19:33So his interests are the interests of the ruling class.
19:37They are.
19:38They do overlap.
19:39So when he looks out for his interests,
19:42he's looking out for the interests of the class he serves,
19:45the ruling, the economic, the big capitalist class.
19:50However, sometimes his interests do not overlap with that of the big capitalist class.
20:00So Mr. Trump is at heart.
20:04He's a real estate developer.
20:06And you don't change your DNA.
20:08It doesn't change when you hit your 70s.
20:11It's baked into him.
20:13He's a real estate developer.
20:15That's his instinct.
20:17That's his reflex.
20:19That's his impulse.
20:21And he's been very straightforward about it.
20:25He calls the potential of a deal with Saudi Arabia,
20:31he calls it, quote, the deal of the century.
20:33Because for him, it will be a real estate bonanza.
20:41Saudi Arabia is investing trillions of dollars in, quote, unquote,
20:45modernizing itself, which basically means construction.
20:50And he will get, he, his son, the nitwit, Jared Kushner,
20:57his daughter, his son-in-law, his daughter, Ivanka,
21:03they will get probably a very high percentage of those real estate contracts.
21:14But there's one problem.
21:17Saudi can't sign on to the deal of the century
21:20while Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
21:24Not that Saudi cares.
21:25I mean, the Saudis starved to death, starved to death.
21:32100,000 children between 2015 and 2018
21:37when they imposed the embargo, the blockade.
21:41But talking about, Professor Finkelstein,
21:43just talking about the starvation,
21:45the manner in which people have been killed.
21:48Now, a lot of people and Israelis I've spoken to,
21:50we do, you know, ask whether if one can compare it to the Holocaust,
21:56as many have been saying.
21:58And a lot of people say, no, the numbers are not the same.
22:01Of course, the numbers are not the same.
22:02But is this systemic extermination of an entire peoples?
22:07In any, when you compare genocides, obviously numbers matter.
22:13And there's no comparison in the numbers between Israel and the Nazi genocide.
22:19Numbers matter.
22:20On the other hand, Hitler and his, the people surrounding him,
22:33they recognized you can't do that sort of stuff, a genocide in public.
22:37They did it behind brick, behind closed doors
22:42or out in the killing fields in the course of a war.
22:51Which everybody had the alibi.
22:55It was fake.
22:56But the Germans had the alibi.
22:59It was fake.
23:01That they didn't know.
23:03You can't say that with the Israelis.
23:05Everything was unfolding in real life before your eyes.
23:10There was no attempt to conceal.
23:15Well, there was some attempt.
23:16They always said they were fighting Hamas.
23:19But anybody who had his or her eyes open
23:22recognized that when you are, as it's been documented,
23:27targeting children, as it's been documented,
23:31targeting journalists,
23:32as it's been documented,
23:34as it's been documented,
23:35targeting medical personnel,
23:38as it's been documented,
23:41targeting UN workers,
23:44well, that's clearly, it's not a war.
23:47It's a genocide in full view.
23:49So, in that case,
23:55they're actually worse than the Nazis.
23:59Nazis built, you know,
24:00they did pretend
24:02it was
24:05not happening.
24:07Professor Finkelstein,
24:11thank you so much for joining us here
24:12and sharing your views
24:14on what's happening in Gaza today.
24:17With that,
24:17it's a close of this edition of
24:19Day-to-Day Global.
24:20But before we go,
24:21we leave you with visuals of fireworks
24:23and a dazzling drone light show
24:25illuminating the night sky
24:27over Egypt's geyser
24:28as Egypt celebrated
24:30the long-awaited opening
24:31of the Grand Egyptian Museum
24:33located near the pyramids.
24:35Drones formed images
24:37of ancient Egypt's treasures
24:39including the golden mask,
24:41coffin and throne
24:42of King Tutankhamun
24:44as well as the ceremonial chariot
24:47and the ship of King Khufu.
24:49The show also featured
24:50a laser and shadow performance
24:52projected against the backdrop
24:53of the museum.
24:55Enjoy the visuals.
24:56Goodbye and take care.
25:05See you next time.
25:15Bye.
25:15Bye.
25:15Bye.
25:25Bye.
25:25Bye.
25:25Bye.
25:25Bye.
25:26Bye.
25:26Bye.
25:26Bye.
25:27Bye.
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