'Big tent: Democrats must embrace a Muslim Democratic Socialist in NYC, a farmer in midwest, tech entrepreneurs'

3 months ago

Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English

Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00A top story for you this hour then. New Yorkers are projected to elect the Democrat Zohran

00:17Mamdani as mayor this Tuesday. The 34-year-old describes himself as a socialist and campaigned

00:23on reducing costs for the working class. He's currently leading on 41%. That's in the latest

00:29Atlas Intel poll. He's trailed by the former state governor Andrew Cuomo on 34%. Analysts

00:36arguing a win for Mamdani could open a new front in opposition to Donald Trump and raise

00:41the spectre that the president could retaliate against the city. Jessica Lemassurier reports

00:46from New York. 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani appears poised to make history by becoming New York

00:56city's first Muslim mayor and the youngest mayor since 1892. The Democratic candidate

01:01is the front-runner, polling well ahead of his closest rival, former New York state governor

01:05Andrew Cuomo. I've been following Mamdani on the campaign trail for a few weeks now and

01:10it's been fascinating to watch him in action. He is charismatic in a way that's reminiscent

01:15of a young Obama and he's unafraid of answering tough questions. In less than a year, Mamdani

01:20has gone from unknown Queen's Assemblyman to a political stardom, really. At times on

01:26the campaign trail, young voters were screaming with excitement upon meeting him. He represents

01:31the new face of the Democratic Party, one that is calling for change and one that's ready

01:35to push back against Donald Trump. Now, Trump has called Mamdani a communist and threatened

01:40to pull federal funding to New York City if Mamdani is elected. But the candidates really

01:45leaned into that criticism, promising to fight back. Now, Mamdani is a self-described democratic

01:50socialist and he's joked that he's kind of like a Scandinavian politician, only browner.

01:55He is running on a platform of affordability, promising free buses and childcare, city-owned

02:00grocery stores, a rent freeze. He says that he's going to pay for it partly by raising taxes

02:06on the wealthy. Well, that's not gone down well, of course, with many New Yorkers and his main

02:10opponent, has characterised this race as a choice between capitalism and socialism.

02:16Another crucial issue has been Mamdani's pro-Palestinian stance. In the past, it was just

02:20unthinkable that a politician who criticises Israel could get elected here in New York City,

02:25which has the biggest Jewish population outside of Tel Aviv. But Mamdani has proven that that's

02:30changing. He's been accused of being an anti-Semite, but has many Jewish backers and has explained

02:35that he is pro-human rights, not anti-Semitic. Now, what happens here in New York City resonates

02:41across the United States. So, the rise of a socialist politician here has got the whole

02:45country and indeed the whole world talking about what it means for American politics.

02:51France 24's Jessica Lemissurier speaking there. A short time ago, Zofran Mandani spoke, saying

02:57that New York is on the brink of history. Take a listen.

03:00We are on the brink of making history in our city. On the brink of saying goodbye to a politics

03:09of the past. A politics that tells you what it can't do and really what it means to say

03:13is what it won't do. And to usher in a new era in this city where we understand that we

03:21do not get to choose the scale of the crisis we face. We simply get to choose the manner

03:27in which we respond. And it is time to finally respond with the urgency that New Yorkers deserve.

03:34Well, why don't we talk a bit more about today's mayoral race with Reid Brody. He's a former

03:38New York State Assistant Attorney General, is equally a human rights, an international

03:42human rights lawyer. Reid, thanks for speaking to France 24 this afternoon. You heard Mandani

03:48speaking there about being on the brink of history. A quick look at his campaign that's ultimately

03:54focused on affordability, speaking to working class voters, hiking up the taxes on New York

04:00City's wealthiest. How important are those issues to New Yorkers, firstly? And a second

04:06prong of that question, has that been key to his rise in your opinion, Reid?

04:10I think there are several factors. First, I think we have to put this election as you have

04:18in a national context. We have a president who is trampling on the Constitution, who's obliterating

04:25checks and balances, sending the National Guard into democratic cities. We had here in New York

04:32the immigration police conducting a raid on Canal Street, attacking the press and the rule of

04:40law, turning Americans against one another for political gain, treating democracy itself as

04:47a as an obstacle to his power. And unfortunately, what we've seen from the traditional counterweights

04:54is capitulation. Congress is silent. The Supreme Court is dominated by conservatives. Big media is

05:03putting corporate interests, their corporate mergers and things above their duty to

05:09to scrutinize. We've seen capitulation by big law firms and big universities, not to mention big

05:18corporations and big tech. And as I talk to people here in New York, I hear the same thing again and

05:26again. For many people, this election is the first chance they have to stand up to Donald Trump, to stand up

05:33for democracy. And Zora Mandani is seen as the candidate who will do that. And, you know, his politics of

05:41affordability, I appeal to people in this city, which is, this has, I believe, the second highest cost of

05:50living in the world after Singapore. Many people are leaving because they are priced out. I have people in my

05:59own family who can, who are, who have that position. And I think, you know, this is, this has been a very

06:05exciting campaign. We'll see what happens. I don't know what the result will be. But I think that he has

06:13lit a spark. On that question of lighting a spark, you made reference to Donald Trump. Our reporter said

06:19that Donald Trump has referred to Mamdani as, as a communist, ultimately. Mamdani, it has to be said,

06:25has stirred both admiration, but equally some alarm in those who think he's perhaps too far

06:31to the left. What do people fear when it comes to Mamdani, you know, particularly within the

06:37Democratic Party, because he, you know, has caused some division there? You know, that's right. I mean,

06:44there are many Democrats who, you know, feed at the same trough as Republicans, who get huge corporate,

06:50I mean, unfortunately, money is what wins elections here in New York, and I'm sorry, in the United

06:56States. And it takes millions and hundreds of millions of dollars to run campaigns. And, you know,

07:06we have been bombarded in the last couple of days and weeks here in New York with these ads, and,

07:12you know, attacking Mamdani as a terrorist and things like that. I mean, I get things under my door

07:19all the time in that vein. And that requires money, and that requires corporate contributions. And a lot

07:26of the Democrat, Democratic Party is beholden to that, let's say. But I think, you know, we have to

07:34see the Democrat, if the Democrats are going to come back and win power, and the midterms or thereafter,

07:44they need to win in a lot of places. And, you know, I think the party needs to be a big tent,

07:53big enough to embrace a Muslim Democratic Socialist in New York, and a farmer in the Midwest,

08:05and tech entrepreneurs. I think, you know, the party has to propose things, but it also,

08:11it can't be, it can't say, no, you know, you're too far left. No, you're a Muslim.

08:17I mean, another thing, you spoke about the fact that Mamdani is a Muslim. New York outside

08:22of Israel has the largest Jewish community. Mamdani has divided that community. There are those from

08:29the Jewish community that think he would be a breath of fresh air, others who say they're wary.

08:34Again, your thoughts on that, Reid?

08:37Well, I'm Jewish. My son went to a Jewish school. I identify as a Jew. I think you have to understand

08:46that in the United States, a lot of Jews are opposed to what Israel is doing. Many of the

08:53demonstrations we've seen here in New York and elsewhere against the genocide in Gaza,

09:00against the politics of the state of Israel, have been led or have been, have had many Jews.

09:06It's not Mamdani who's dividing the Jewish community in New York. I think it's the state

09:11of Israel. And yes, I mean, I do, I have relatives who ask me, Jewish relatives at me, isn't this guy

09:18an anti-Semite? And I just don't, I have to say, I don't see that. I just think we've seen all of

09:25these ads from Cuomo, from opponents of Mamdani and the corporate industry, you know, trying to tie

09:34him to terrorism, to 9-11. We saw Andrew Cuomo, he was on a radio show and they asked him, well,

09:43if you imagine if, actually Cuomo said, imagine if Mamdani were the president or the mayor on 9-11.

09:50And the reporter said, yeah, he would probably cheer and Cuomo chuckled and, you know, agreed

09:55with that. I mean, there's this, you know, unfortunate tendency to label Muslims as, and

10:04and Mamdani has been very open and honest about what it's been like to grow up as a Muslim, but he

10:09has many Jewish reporters. He has endorsements from the leading New York Jewish politicians, Brad

10:19Landon, the controller, the local Jewish congresspeople in New York City have been endorsing

10:27him. So I think this is a red herring, unfortunately, but it's, it's, it's one that has had a huge

10:33impact, I think, and is, makes the race closer than it should be.

10:38I just want to circle back to Trump, because of course, if, and we don't know the result yet,

10:42but Mamdani does win. What kind of opposition is this likely to pose to Donald Trump? And could

10:48we see him retaliate? He's already spoken about, you know, less funding for New York City, should

10:53Mamdani win?

10:55Well, absolutely. I think this is, this is, this is what we're all worried about. If Mamdani

11:01wins, we know, I mean, Donald Trump has shown a willingness and, and, and a talent to use every

11:09single level of power, lever of power to destroy those who don't agree with him, those who will

11:18not bend to his will, those who will not capitulate. And so we've seen, I mean, he said he's, he's

11:23taking, you know, money, I mean, during this government shutdown, he has withdrawn money from

11:30democratic cities. He has sent the police, he has sent, you know, the National Guard into

11:35democratic cities. When Harvard University, you know, would not capitulate to his demands,

11:42he, he, he started, you know, going after their international students, talking about their tax

11:47exempt status, cutting hundreds of, of millions of dollars of grants to the point where their

11:54public health school is teetering. And, and so he has shown that, you know, uh,

12:00he has shown a, a, a willingness and an ability, um, to, to, to, to take it out on his, on his

12:08opponents. And, and, and I think, you know, New York is going to need that backbone of, uh, that New

12:14Yorkers have, um, to stand up, uh, to, to Donald Trump. And, but I think in this country, um, that is

12:22what we need. We need more people, more places, uh, more governments, um, more institutions, uh,

12:29who will stand up to Donald Trump. And yes, it, it, it, it could get difficult for, for the reasons

12:35that you said, Donald Trump, uh, is vindictive. He is cruel. He doesn't see himself as the president

12:41of all Americans. He said that openly, he wishes the worst for his enemies. He wishes the worst for

12:46democratic places. Um, and I think that's a reality that we can either capitulate to, or stand up to.

12:53I mean, Reid, as we've been saying, as have you just been saying, that these mayoral elections,

12:57of course, have implications for the future, not just of the city, not just of New York City,

13:01but also the Democratic Party. There are equally other elections that, if you will, are critical,

13:07uh, gauges of the US political mood. I'm thinking notably of those elections for governor of, uh,

13:12Virginia and New Jersey, where the winners would be the first, uh, the winner, I should say,

13:17would be the first female governor of Virginia. That too is going to give us a sense,

13:21a litmus test of how, uh, voters are feeling, uh, about, uh, Donald Trump.

13:28Absolutely. I mean, we have, uh, important gubernatorial races in New Jersey and, and in

13:33Virginia, um, uh, where, uh, I mean, New Jersey has generally been a, uh, a democratic state,

13:40although it has elected Republican governors. Um, uh, these also, I mean, I haven't spent time in

13:46those states, uh, uh, uh, but, um, as I understand, as I see it, uh, they also seem in many ways to

13:54focus on these issues about standing up to Donald Trump, about economic justice, uh, for, for working

14:00people. I mean, I just, statistics came out today that just showed that the top 1.01% of Americans

14:07have gotten $700 billion richer, um, since Donald Trump has been president. At the same time, food

14:14stamps are being cut off now during the government shutdown or being reduced, um, to the poorest,

14:20uh, Americans. And, and so I think these are issues that pervade, um, uh, all regions and all the

14:27United States. Um, there's also a very important election in, in California, um, uh, or a vote in

14:33California. Um, uh, you know, Donald Trump is trying to make sure that he stays in power, that

14:40there are no checks on his power. And one of the things he is doing is undermining the integrity of

14:46the midterm elections by read, by getting Republican states to redistrict their maps, um, so that there

14:53are no seats that are likely to vote Democratic. And we've seen, he ordered the governor of Texas to do

14:59that in several other States. And there's a big election in California now, um, to do, uh, the

15:04same on the other side, to redistrict, uh, California's districts, um, uh, to, to, to have

15:10more, uh, Democratic representations. Normally that's, that's a very unfair thing to do. Um, but in this,

15:17in, in, in the context of standing up to, to, you know, to, to the erosion of democracy, it seems like

15:23a critical thing to do. So there's a big election in California today, Proposition 50, which would

15:28redraw the, uh, congressional maps to provide more Democratic representation in Congress.

15:36As you say, Reid, that election will be key, particularly ahead of, uh, next year's midterms.

15:40Uh, thank you very much for speaking to us, Reid Brodie, former, uh, New York state assistant

15:45attorney and international human rights lawyer. Thanks very much.

'Big tent: Democrats must embrace a Muslim Democratic Socialist in NYC, a farmer in midwest, tech entrepreneurs'

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended