cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/209042

Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday that he is endorsing fellow democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor, giving the 33-year-old assemblymember another boost in his challenge to front-runner Andrew Cuomo.

In a statement, Sanders said Mamdani is running “an inspirational grassroots campaign” backed by small-dollar donors and praised his plan to pay for his platform of new affordable housing and free buses through an increased tax on the wealthy and corporations, a staple of the senator’s own political ideology. Sanders notably did not endorse in the 2021 primary and only backed Bill de Blasio during his reelection bid in 2017.

“At this pivotal and dangerous moment in American history, status-quo politics is not good enough. We need the kind of visionary leadership that Zohran is providing in this campaign. In my view, Zohran Mamdani is the best choice for mayor of New York City,” he said.

Mamdani acknowledged Sanders’s support on social media, writing that the veteran progressive senator “has been the single most influential political figure in my life.”

“As mayor, I will strive to live up to his example by fighting for the working class every day and hopefully make Brooklyn’s own proud,” he said.

Speculation about Sanders’s plans to endorse in the race grew after Mamdani received the support of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a longtime friend and ally of Sanders. The two recently embarked on the cross-country Fighting Oligarchy tour together, holding massive rallies in Republican strongholds in an effort to harness voters’ growing opposition to Trump between election years. Our Revolution, the progressive political organization founded by Sanders during his 2016 presidential bid, also announced its own endorsement in the primary, backing Mamdani and Comptroller Brad Lander, who have both cross-endorsed each other in the ranked-choice race.

It’s not yet clear if Sanders will join Mamdani on the campaign trail in the waning days of the race. A 2019 rally for Sanders’s presidential campaign with Ocasio-Cortez drew a reported 26,000 attendees to Queensbridge Park. Over the weekend, Mamdani rallied with the congresswoman at Terminal 5 in Manhattan, attracting thousands of supporters to the venue.

Related

Zohran Mamdani Crashes the PartyThe New York Times Leads the Movement to Stop Zohran MamdaniAndrew Cuomo Faces a Hard Road


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  • ICBM
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    134 days ago

    Socdems endorsing socdems.

    Spoiler: They both believe Israel has a right to exist 🤮

    • SexUnderSocialism [she/her]
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      224 days ago

      He waited till the last moment when polls showed there’s a chance he might win lol. Pure opportunism.

      Social-Democracy is objectively the moderate wing of fascism.

      • mrfugu [he/him, any]
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        13 days ago

        ok I’m gonna have to call you to elaborate on that one. Maybe my brain isn’t functioning this morning (first day back from pto) but trying to ask myself “how could social democracy be the moderate wing of facism” is haven’t the same effect as asking myself “if a tree falls and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound?”

        • @IttihadChe@lemmy.ml
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          12 days ago

          “There is no ground for assuming that the fighting organisation of the bourgeoisie can achieve decisive successes in battles, or in governing the country, without the active support of Social-Democracy. There is just as little ground for thinking that Social-Democracy can achieve decisive successes in battles, or in governing the country, without the active support of the fighting organisation of the bourgeoisie. These organisations do not negate, but supplement each other. They are not antipodes, they are twins. Fascism is an informal political bloc of these two chief organisations; a bloc, which arose in the circumstances of the post-war crisis of imperialism, and which is intended for combating the proletarian revolution. The bourgeoisie cannot retain power without such a bloc. It would therefore be a mistake to think that “pacifism” signifies the liquidation of fascism. In the present situation, “pacifism” is the strengthening of fascism with its moderate, Social-Democratic wing pushed into the forefront.”

          J.V Stalin ~ Concerning the international situation.

          https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1924/09/20.htm

    • RedWizard [he/him, comrade/them]OP
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      4 days ago

      He doesn’t according to The Jerusalem Post, or the NY Post.

      New York mayor candidate Zohran Mamdani aligns with antisemitism | The Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-857512

      Mamdani still won’t say Israel has a right to exist — sparking quick backlash from Cuomo at debate https://nypost.com/2025/06/04/us-news/zohran-mamdani-still-wont-answer-if-israel-has-a-right-to-exists-jewish-state-and-faces-quick-backlash-from-andrew-cuomo-during-debate/

      “I believe Israel has a right to exist,” Mamdani said, to which the moderator replied, “As a Jewish state?”

      “As a state with equal rights,” he replied.

      Israel existing as a state with equal rights would be an Israel in name only. I’m not sure why you’re taking the Zionist position on his stance on Israel.

      • ICBM
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        4 days ago

        Mamdani still won’t say Israel has a right to exist

        He literally said exactly that it in a televised mayoral debate.

        Israel existing as a state with equal rights would be an Israel in name only. I’m not sure why you taking the Zionist position on his stance on Israel.

        Get the fuck out of here with that. If you believe that you’re engaging in fascist apologia.

        As I already stated elswhere this thread:

        Israel is the name of the murder machine that haunts the land. Its fucking called Palestine. It MATTERS that the genocidal fascists are purged from the land they have STOLEN and tried to culturally ERASE. The zionists cannot be allowed to continue their legacy of theft and occupation when this ends.

        Shitrael has NO RIGHT TO EXIST in any form, ever again, in the same way and for the same reason as the Nazis.

        • ElChapoDeChapo [he/him, comrade/them]
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          204 days ago

          He responded to a stupid gotcha question with a clever gotcha answer, not what he really believes

          He supports BDS which means if elected he could potentially hurt piSSrael economically in a very bad way and I see no downside to supporting him

          You’re right that isntrael has no right to exist but no one here disagrees with you on that

          Zohran’s answer doesn’t matter because even if elected he only has control of NYC not any other part of NY let alone amerikkka so he has no say in what happens when the apartheid ends and I guarantee he’d prefer it be Palestine he just isn’t taking the bait from Cuomo and the media to make the election about this

          • ICBM
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            84 days ago

            You’re engaging in liberal apologia for a person who just said ‘I think Isreal has a right to exist’.

            Are you paying attention right now? Tel Aviv is on fire. The ENTIRE WORLD IS ON THE BRINK OF NUCLEAR WAR. The zionist entity as at it’s end, but they’re escalating their genocide in Gaza and turning the entire city into a combat zone right now. Saying the Nazis have a right to exist is cause for an immediate trip to the gulag. Death to Shitrael. Shove your liberal zionist apologia completely up your fucking ass.

            • CommunistCuddlefish [she/her]
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              134 days ago

              This is a case of “hate the game, not the player”. Out of context, what you’re saying is correct, nobody should say “israel has a right to exist”. In context, lay off him, this is wrecker behavior. You’re shitting on the only Muslim candidate in this election (and the only one with a history of supporting Palestine) for not falling into the obvious trap that an aggressive and hostile media class tried to berate him into. Answering “no” would have been just falling for the trap and would have been a stupid thing to do. They already hate him because he supports Palestine. It would have been cool if he said “death 2 isnt’real, death 2 ameriKKKa, unlimited genocide upon the first world” but it would also have been stupid to torch his entire political campaign just to take the bait.

              I didn’t like his answer either but he gave the answer a politician in his position has to give and he still refused to play along. They’ll call him antisemitic anyway, but he didn’t give them a soundbite to play over and over again to smear him with. Have you dealt with manipulative snakes before? When they try to get you to hang yourself, you don’t help them.

            • ElChapoDeChapo [he/him, comrade/them]
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              4 days ago

              I’m not gonna ask you to dox yourself but if you don’t live in NY I don’t really care about your opinion here

              Most of the time the western left especially here in amerikkka deserves every one of the criticisms you’ve made and more but this is not one of those cases

              There’s a very short list of politicians who aren’t complete scum in this state

              Now you can argue against the libs and zionists in your head like Don Quixote and call me both of those for participating in electoralism at any level but on the other hand my state representative is moving forward on legislation that will make our local power company state owned and control the prices so I’m gonna go with her

              • ICBM
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                64 days ago

                Sure, opposing tacit support for Zionazi occupation is chasing imaginary dragons. Is the revolutionary bar so high, or are you just that pathetic? Have you taken a look at whats going on right now? Israel is being destroyed as we speak. We’re on the edge of global nuclear war. Just because you’re too spineless to draw a line doesn’t make you pragmatic, it makes you an amerikkkan.

    • spectre [he/him]
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      104 days ago

      Why are you playing to the media narrative that it matters what the mayor of New York City thinks about Israel?

      It’s functionally not true anyway. Israel existing “as a state with equal rights for all of its citizens” (as he stated int he debate) is just a regular country with a cringe flag and name. If it provides equal rights for all of its citizens, who gives a shit what it’s called?

      • ICBM
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        4 days ago

        Why are you playing to the media narrative that it matters what the mayor of New York City thinks about Israel?

        I agree. It absolutely doesn’t matter.

        It’s functionally not true anyway. Israel existing “as a state with equal rights for all of its citizens” (as he stated int he debate) is just a regular country with a cringe flag and name. If it provides equal rights for all of its citizens, who gives a shit what it’s called?

        No. I GIVE A SHIT. Israel is the name of the murder machine that haunts the land. Its fucking called Palestine. It MATTERS that the genocidal fascists are purged from the land they have STOLEN and tried to culturally ERASE. The zionists cannot be allowed to continue their legacy of theft and occupation when this ends.

        Shitrael has NO RIGHT TO EXIST in any form, ever again, in the same way and for the same reason as the Nazis.