Zohran Mamdani, the alleged Democratic candidate for the mayor in New York City, said Sunday that he does not believe that there are billionaires.
When asked directly if the billionaires should have the right to exist, Mamdani, who identifies himself as a Democratic socialist, told “Meet The Press” of NBC News, “I do not think we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is a lot of money at a time of such uniqueness, and in what we need more of equality in our city and in our state and in our state.”
“And I hope to work with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fair for all of them,” he added.
His comments occur when some people rich in New York City are sought to Mamdani in the days after it was clear that he would be the alleged nominee.
Bill Ackman, an administrator of multimillionaire coverage funds that has supported President Donald Trump in the past, pledged on Thursday to use his money to finance a challenger to Mamdani in the general elections.
“[Mamdani’s] The policies would be disastrous for New York. Socialism does not take place in the economic capital of our country. NYC’s ability to offer services for the poor and in need, much less the average New Yorker, it depends completely on that NYC is a friendly business environment and a place where rich residents are willing to spend 183 days and assume the associated tax burden, “Ackman wrote in an X.
“It is important to note that there are hundreds of millions of dollars of capital available to support a competitor for Mamdani that can be prepared overnight (believe me, I am on the text strings and the WhatsApp groups) so that a great alternative candidate does not spend any time raising funds. Therefore, if the right candidate raises his hand or his hand tomorrow, the funds,” he added.
On Sunday, Mamdani also talked about his plans to increase taxes on the richest people who live in the Big Apple, and told the moderator of “meeting the press” Kristen Welker: “Ultimately, the reason why I want to increase these taxes over 1%higher, the most profitable corporations is to increase the quality of life for all, including those that will be taxes.”
He accredited his plan to increase taxes on the rich as one of the key principles of his platform that helped him win the primaries.
“We are seeing that our vision of taxing the upper 1% of New Yorkers, these are New Yorkers who earn a million dollars a year or more, and our proposal is simply to tax them in additional 2%, it is something that has broad support, and we will continue to increase that support in the coming months.”
Mamdani has also faced critics, including President Donald Trump, who call him communist.
“I’m not” communist, Mamdani said Sunday, in response to a question about Trump’s comments.
On Sunday, in a separate interview in Fox News that was recorded on Friday, Trump spoke again about Mamdani, threatening to extract federal funds from New York City if the next mayor does not “do the right thing.”
“But let’s say this: if you enter, I will be president, and you will have to do the right thing or not to get money, you have to do the right thing,” the president told Maria Bartyrome of Fox News.
Mamdani added in his response: “I have already had to start getting used to, getting used to the fact that the president will talk about how I see myself, how sueno, where I am, who I am, ultimately, because he wants to distract him for what I am fighting, and I am fighting for the people who work in a campaign to recessed, which has been betrayed.”
A key approach to Mamdani’s campaign was to talk about the affordability and the economy, a point that made the press “on Sunday when asked why he thought he won.
“It was the focus on the fact that we live in the most expensive city of the United States of America. It is also the richest city in the richest country in the history of the world, and yet, 1 in 4 New Yorkers lives in poverty, and the rest is apparently caught in a state of anxiety,” Mamdani said.
He added: “And what we have seen is that this is a city that must be affordable for people who build it every day. Our approach was in exactly that, and by maintaining that focus on an economic agenda, we show the New York that this could be more than a museum of what was once. It could be a living testimony, breathing the possibility.”
