Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont offered high praise for New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani following Mamdani’s apparent victory in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, calling him a leader who brings more than charm to the table.
“What Zohran understood, is that in order to win, you got to be more than charismatic, and he is,” Sanders said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes.”
Sanders elaborated on what makes Mamdani’s campaign effective, saying, “You got to be more than smart, which he is. You got to build a strong grassroots movement around a progressive agenda. He had thousands and thousands of people knocking on doors because they were excited about his message.”
In a separate interview with Politico on Wednesday, Sanders suggested that if Vice President Harris had adopted a similar strategy during the 2024 race, she might have succeeded in her presidential bid.
Mamdani’s performance in the primary left many political analysts stunned, as the democratic socialist appeared poised to defeat former Governor Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination. Mamdani, who moved to the U.S. from Uganda as a young boy, has spent most of his life living in New York City.
Should he officially win the mayoralty, Mamdani would make history as the city’s first Muslim and Asian mayor.
“In the words of Nelson Mandela: it always seems impossible until it’s done. My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it. I am honored to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City,” Mamdani wrote on X in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Mamdani believes the message of his campaign has the potential to resonate well beyond New York.
“I think ultimately, this is a campaign about inequality, and you don’t have to live in the most expensive city in the country to have experienced that inequality, because it’s a national issue,” Mamdani said Wednesday night on MSNBC in an interview with Jen Psaki.
{Matzav.com}