Zohran Mamdani State of Mind

28:21What's one thing in politics that makes you say, I've had it every single day? Honestly, the campaign finance of it all. Yes. Oh, my gosh. And I'm lucky that I'm here in New York City. We have the campaign finance board. There's a matching fund system. If a New Yorker gives$10, it's matched eight to one. And that's incredible. And yet still you have super PACs that can completely reshape a race. And in the primary, we survived more than$30 million in opposition spending. It's amazing. And it's both incredible and yet it shouldn't take this much to get to this point. You shouldn't have to wake up one morning and find out that when your friend turns on TV, there are seven ads and they're all sponsored by DoorDash and whomever else attacking and smearing and slandering your campaign.

29:19And I think it's part of the results that we see across this country are directly tied to the fact that people can buy elections. Yeah. Right. And it's just such an absurd inversion of what democracy is supposed to be. I completely agree. Let's talk about this. Like the idea of you to certain people, like maybe a Jewish person or a person that's been really good at capitalism, like maybe they have a hedge fund and they've like crushed it or they own DoorDash or they own Uber. They have this fear towards you. Like I'll give you an example. I went to a engagement party in Oklahoma City a couple of weeks ago and the couple that was getting married Jewish and said, I love your podcast, blah, blah, blah.

30:03I said, oh, yeah, we're going to New York. We're going to Zora and Mamdonian. And she went – and I went, you're the biggest Democrat on the planet. And she was like, oh. And she was like, isn't he – and I'm like, he is not anti-Semitic. He is a candidate for everybody, for workers, for everybody that's been left behind. And you see like there's certain triggers that you trigger in people and it's this fear. What do you have to say to the stereotypes that are built in to maybe what you look like or maybe the fact that you're Muslim or maybe the fact that you've really had moral clarity on Israel Gaza or the fact that you have real moral clarity about, you know, billionaires paying more in taxes?

30:49is what do you say to the people that are progressive by nature, but there's something about you that triggers this default setting of fear inside them? Well, the first thing is I don't begrudge them because if they turn on TV or open up a newspaper, they'll often engage with a caricature of me. Right. And if that's all I read about myself, I'd probably have concerns too. And it's an opportunity for me to introduce myself as I actually am. because so often the fear mongering is so immense. I mean, I had a guy come up to me and say, I heard you're going to be the first Muslim mayor. And I said, yeah.

31:27He said, I heard that we might not be able to buy alcohol in New York City. And I was like, who are you buying alcohol from now? A Muslim guy at your bodega, most likely. And I think it's like, you're going to be fine. So some of it is, you know, borders on the absurd. But some of it is also that we see that it's a lot of what our campaign is portrayed as, as if there is no precedent for it. Think about democratic socialism. I am a democratic socialist. I also wouldn't be the first democratic socialist mayor. We've had a number. And we've even had a mayor who was a member of the democratic socialists of America.

32:10That's David Dinkins, not just a few decades ago. And people ask me, how can this interact with New York City being the home of global finance? And I say, my focus as a democratic socialist is ensuring that every New Yorker lives a dignified life. That is my responsibility to ensure that what you need, what is necessary for you is something that you're not priced out of. Not what you want, not what you'd like, but we all understand people need K through 12 education. So we have public schools. But for some reason, we think that childcare is something that you could be priced out of before you get to K through 12.

32:47That it's okay that New Yorkers have to spend$25 ,000 a year procuring childcare. I believe that the city should provide universal childcare. And this is something that I've sought to share with people about what our vision is. And the fact that if they have questions, if they have concerns, I'm here to answer them. Because what oftentimes people are worried about is what Andrew Cuomo is telling them, which bears no relation to what we're actually talking about or fighting for. It's so true. The fear mongering stuff, it's very easy. Certain people I have found recently are really, really scared of a lot of things, particularly like right wing people.

33:27If you think about the list of the people that they're scared of, it grows by the day. You've got drag queens, trans people, Muslim people. They've added the liberal white woman. You guys just got added? Yeah, we got added. The liberal white woman. The water's just fine. Yes. Come on in. I like this group a lot better. But it is this masculinity thing that's like merged with capitalism and sometimes religion and patriotism. Like we talk about it. We see it all the time on flights. Like when we flew up here, I saw a guy and he had on like this MAGA coded merge. like Patriot Warrior. Didn't quite say maggot, but you know.

34:08And what's interesting is we talk about politics all the time on the pod is underneath that is there's some brokenness or left behind. And so I feel like your campaign, I heard you speaking one time when the leftist tennis people turned me on to you. I heard you speaking about the people that make New York City run. And anybody who's ever been to New York, lives in New York, there is an engine of workers and people that make it run. And I just think there's so much courage in fighting for those people legitimately, not in a grifty way, you know, but a legitimate way. And I just I love so much that you're doing this.

34:51You're too polite, but I'm going to go on the permanent record and just state it really pisses me off that a lot of people in the democratic establishment have not endorsed you and it's not going unnoticed we have a lot of followers we've spoken about this with other podcasters in the left and i know that you're staying out of all of that and i respect that you're not a titty baby like trump complaining because somebody didn't support you but i just want you to know the fact that you're not bad about it makes us triple mad yeah and we will just keep be warned of the liberal white woman yeah we're gonna be careful very careful we're gonna live out on that right pumps absolutely okay i have you know elizabeth warren one of my favorites we love her she came right out she's from oklahoma originally really yes she's born in oklahoma city yes isn't that crazy that's okay we love her that liberal white woman there you're a white woman hey okay i have a question i immediately heard when you won by a landslide He can't support Jewish people.

35:48He can't represent Jewish people. And I thought, boy, that's a window into your soul, isn't it? So how do you respond to that? Because I find that so offensive. One of the most beautiful things about this city is its rich legacy of a Jewish community. And I mean, the cultural legacy, the legacies that we've all grown up with. And I moved to the city when I was seven years old. I grew up in Morningside Heights. And so much of my introduction to New York City was also an introduction to Jewish communal life. I mean, I remember coming back from my sixth bar mitzvah and asking my dad, why don't we do these?

36:24Do we have anything like this? I was like, we don't have anything. I remember the first bar mitzvah I went to. I was like, this is amazing. This is so cool. Yeah. And and and I think that it's, you know, also to the earlier point of so many of these people's concerns are so removed from what New York City life is like. Right. This is a city that is a celebration of the possibility of all of us from everywhere across the world of all different religions being able to flourish in the same place. And my commitment is a commitment to not only protect Jewish New Yorkers amidst this rising anti-Semitism, but also a commitment to ensure the flourishing of Jewish life.

37:03And I think that that is what I share with New Yorkers each and every day, that this will be a city that is not remade in my image. It's going to be remade in the image of struggling New Yorkers, of those who so often would have had what they needed to live a real fulfilling life. But now we're in danger of being priced out of the city they call home. I just want to say that I think as somebody who lives in a flyover state, the New York mayoral race right now for me is so important because it shows America where you have a lot of Americans right now that are reverting. They're being very regressive in thoughts about white nationalism and things.

37:44It reminds them that we are a nation of immigrants and you can come here and you can run for mayor, build businesses, build families. And I think we're best when we celebrate multiculturalism. And I think the freest city in the world where you feel the most freedom, the less judgment on the planet is this city right here, New York City. I can't even begin to tell you how judgmental they are in the Bible Belt. This episode of I've Had It is brought to you by Booking.com. Booking.yeah. From vacation rentals to hotels across the U.S., Booking.com has the ideal summer stay for absolutely anyone, even those who might seem impossible to please.

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42:44Discounts not available in all states or situations. Okay, we're going to play a game with you. This is going to be really fun. I'm going to list a couple of tweets or headlines, and you're going to tell me if you think it's real or if we've made it up and it's fake. Okay. Okay, here's a tweet from Andrew Cuomo. In case you forgot, I'm Andrew Cuomo, son of Mario, grandson of Andrea. Welcome to the heavyweight bout at Zoron K. Mamdani. This is a two-man race. You look tired already. It's just the second round. Real or fake? Real. Real. Okay, we had a conversation about this. I thought he was trying to flex about his dad.

43:28I don't know why he threw grandma in. What do you think that was? I mean, I was trying to be logical. Telling a bunch of progressives, look, I'm a nepo, baby. I don't know. I don't get it. Here's what I wonder, and I'm not – obviously this applies to Andrew Cuomo, but other politicians too. When it's over, it's over. You have to go out gracefully. I feel like everything he's ever accomplished now has a stain on it because of this kind of thing. He just couldn't let it go. I asked her like three days after the primary. I was like, I thought Andrew Cuomo got his ass kicked. What's going on? She had to explain it to me.

44:05I'm like, at some point, the people around you say, it's over. It's enough. He doesn't keep those people around. Oh, it's like the Donald Trump thing, like you were saying. And I think, you know, he was actually quite graceful when he called me on election night. Was he? He called me and he said, you ran the better campaign. You engaged young people. Tonight is your night. And if it's all right with you, I'm going to go out and I'm going to say that we spoke. And I shared this. I said, absolutely. Absolutely. And that moment of grace has sadly been a fleeting one for him because this is a public processing of the fact that he lost and lost by a margin of 13 points.

44:50And so much of his persona is a persona of strength and inevitability. And to have that just taken from you, it leaves you sending these kinds of tweets. speaking of this okay here's another one uh andrew cuomo tweets just fixed a flat with nothing but a paper clip and my charm not all heroes wear capes some wear white tailored suits at zoron k mam donnie still can't handle the gas i think this is real it's fake oh my god that's how bad it is though that's how bad you might have written his next tweet great okay okay here's some more okay here's andrew cuomo fun fact i don't need a scavenger hunt people already know where to find me on top hashtag built different this is fake yes I know he was angry about the scavenger hunt.

45:51Okay, here's... I don't think he's gotten the hashtag. Here's Eric Adams. I'm sure a scavenger hunt was fun for the people with nothing better to do. Ask our working families trying to do whatever they can to survive if they participated. Ask the people worried about making rent if they thought it was worth it. Ma 'am, Donnie is trying to turn our city into the squid games. I think that's real. It's real. It's just – this is a guy whose administration has had fun doing illegal things. Right. And now thinks it's illegal to have fun. I mean, but here's the thing. You are so clean and good at this.

46:35They're mad at you for having a scavenger hunt. Yeah. Right. You know what? I mean, it's like – But I think it's – you know, there is room for joy in our politics. Yes. And as kind of corny as it may sound, if all we ever do is struggle and fight, we will exhaust ourselves. We have to also have a vision of what life could be like, what we're fighting for. And we had 4 ,000 New Yorkers come out for the scavenger hunt. And I met a number of them at the end of it. And there was one mom who came from New Jersey with her three kids. And she said, you're going to have me move into New York because we came here just to have a good day together.

47:13It was a Sunday. And I think that we've often forgotten that there is also supposed to be rest in people's lives, not just work. You know, I mean, like nine to five, it's now just feels like it's all it is is a Dolly Parton song. Yeah. Because for so many New Yorkers, they work far more than that. It's not that work week any longer. But we've gotten to a point where we've glamorized that as if it is a sign of a healthy society when, in fact, we should glamorize people having weekends, people being able to spend time with their friends and family, people being able to do things beyond just hustling and struggling.

47:52And I think part of the inability of Cuomo and Adams to understand the scavenger hunt is that they don't understand the room in a working person's life for rest, for relaxation, for time. And I would just say they're fun haters. Yeah, fun haters. That was a nice way for you to put it. I'm going to go on the record. Andrew Cuomo. If you only have two seconds, it's fun haters. Eric Adams, you're fun haters. Okay. Now I'm going to do some headlines. And you tell me if they're real or fake. All right. This is a headline, I believe. Okay. Yeah. Riley Gaines latest to mock Zoran Mamdani for his Mam Scromney gem fail.

48:27I'm absolutely judging a politician for how much he can bench, Gaines says. Real. It's real. Yeah. And I just want to point out for the permanent record that she tied for fifth. She tied for fifth place. So I got to be honest, I wasn't really sure who she was. Oh, my gosh. But there are many who can bench more than me and they're all welcome. Right. OK, here's another headline. Democrats like Zoran Mamdani claim to embrace young people. They're betraying them. Fake? Real. Oh, OK, real. OK. Let's see. here's one okay queen's politician ma 'am donnie claims new york needs fewer cops more community drum circles that's fake fake yeah i was like i know i know this is false what's so great for those of you that aren't watching that are listening he's really clinging on to everything yeah he's like analyzing every word you won't believe okay news articles here's another one headline uh nyc will be turned into a sewer again under ma 'am donnie fake real real wow where fox business okay yeah well shout out to my friends at fox business oh they hate us too okay um here's another one uh nyc billionaire likens democratic socialist ma 'am donnie campaign promises to those of Castro?

49:55Fake? Real? Okay. Who was that? I don't have my glasses. Okay. All right. Last one. Zoran Mamdani thinks wokeness can pay the rent. Fake. Fake. Fake. Okay. You nailed it. Okay. There we go. You went out on top. It can't. It can't. Wokeness. You're so earnest. I just don't know. Yeah. The crazy crap is so crazy. It is. It really is stranger than fiction. You hear that all the time. Truth is true. Yeah. Like if I saw a movie of Donald Trump, I would not believe it's real. Yeah. Like that whole circle jerk of the cabinet meeting, I would have been like, there's no way that happens. None. Sure does.

50:41And there's so many examples in our politics here where it's hard to believe. But I mean, even like think about it. If I told you that a top Adams advisor would be found giving a wad of cash in a bag of potato chips to a journalist, that would seem absurd. Right. But this is what is happening. I mean, we had the mayor's top advisor, Ingrid Lewis Martin, take bribes of clam cakes and a cameo in a Hulu show in order to stop the opening of a safer street, McGinnis Boulevard. It's like you just wouldn't believe that this is the kind of level of corruption that's going on in front of us. OK, I kind of would because of the whole Eric Adams.

51:30Like I was reading that and I was like, wow, he's really, really correct. What did he do? There was all kinds of stuff. He was taking bribes, right? Kickbacks. Yeah. I mean, there have been all kinds of allegations with him. It's hard to keep up. The most recent ones have to do with his advisors. The ones, you know, he has this one advisor, Ingrid Lewis Martin. She received, I think, more than$100 ,000 in bribes, it is alleged. But also she is someone who, I mean, it's just so nakedly corrupt, right? You have these kind of local, this family called the Argentos, and they run like a film production in Greenpoint.

52:15And they didn't want there to be the creation of a bike lane. And so they just donated directly in the allegations, say, either to her son or in free catering or in a cameo alongside Forest Whitaker. and then all of a sudden the bike lane is gone for half of the street. I mean. It's crazy. It is crazy. Okay, here's some fun questions before we wrap. Who pretends to be progressive in New York politics but is really just a corporate sellout? I mean, Andrew Cuomo. Come on. Okay, if you had to pass a law banning one everyday New York behavior like tourists stopping in the middle of the sidewalk or landlords hiking the rent, what would it be?

52:59Okay, those are vastly different levels of importance. Do a petty and do a legit. Okay, petty. Petty, you got to walk fast in New York City. I agree. Completely agree. And single file. A single file? Yeah, you can't hold hands and walk. It's just not convenient for everybody else. What about the romance? Have you seen his subway thing with his wife in the subway photo shoot? You can't be closer behind her. You can grab under her hips. Pumps is America's most popular asexual. I am. That's true. I don't believe in romance. It is an honor to meet you. DEI and asexual. And America's grandmother who didn't have an email when she started practicing law.

53:43I don't know if I'm with you on single file, but it's got to be fast. It's got to be fast. And I think there's room for everybody. There's tourists. There's New Yorkers. But you just got to walk fast. I have to say, everybody says New Yorkers are so rude. Yesterday, I was going around in a corner trying to find the downtown RW. And I was just finding the uptown and I asked this woman. She was the sweetest thing on the planet and she helped me. I have never had a New Yorker be read to me when I asked for directions. Not once. We're good people. We're just in a rush. I was in the directions yesterday, too.

54:10I was like, well, I don't know. What did you say? I said, I just got no teeth. I might look all sophisticated, but I'm still walking around trying to find the downtown line. Look for Oklahoma. Please. Okay. What's the most capitalist thing you secretly enjoy? The most capitalist thing I secretly enjoy. Is it Uber Black? No, it's not Uber Black.

54:36Okay, here's a product from a company that I can't live without. Okay. Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream. That's good. Oh, that sounds good. I just had a Pavlovian reaction when you said that. Yeah. In the big tub. Not the... You don't go for the individual? No. Let's just like, come on. How much are you eating at night? How much coffee ice cream? And you're eating this in bed or on the sofa? It depends. Sometimes it's on the move between the bed and the sofa. Okay. You know, you got to just have it with you. Right out of the tub? Right out of the tub. Double dipping? Right out of the tub. Yeah, okay.

55:09You know, for me, it's coffee. For my wife, dulce de leche. That's her favorite flavor. But yesterday I was at my local supermarket and I'm looking at the Haagen-Dazs that's there and I can't see coffee. And you know that there are the other flavors behind, right? Right, right. So I'm like rummaging. and then I look like rummaging and this woman looks at me and she's like oh my god and I'm just like I wonder what image this looks like of the Democratic nominee looking past cookies and cream, past vanilla bean looking for coffee and she's like are you a ice cream fan? I said yes one in particular just looking for my coffee did you find it?

55:49I did since your ascension to like national recognition because this happens to us all the time because we've had the podcast for less than three years like someone will see me and they're like and i'm like oh what is like i look around and i'm like oh it's me like does that ever happen to you where somebody's like and you're like what what are they talking about oh i forgot i'm running for mayor it is they've seen me on tv it is a it is a big shift i mean even just in how we ran the primary race it was just us running around the city. I mean, quite literally, sometimes on a city bike or walking or taking the train or whatever it was.

56:26And now you can't quite do it that way. And most of this is a beautiful reason that New Yorkers are so excited. But when you take the train, you got to be ready to talk to people because people are so excited that you're there. And that's lovely. But it is also a little bit of a, it's hard to believe in your own city that people are looking at you. Right. Right. So much of what it means to New Yorkers, you're just on your way, going to wherever you're going. Don't care. Mind your own business. Headphones in, you're on the train. That's the beautiful thing about New York. Mind their own business.

56:56But there is a... I love that. What are you doing here? What are you doing at the C-Town looking for a big tub of coffee with Hagen-Dazs ice cream? I'm sorry! She's like, don't you have people for that? We haven't found the guy yet! The Hagen-Dazs position is still open! Please submit applications. Well, I cannot tell you how enjoyable this has been. We love, love, love New York City. I love what you're doing nationally, which I know it's not your intention, but it is. There is a trickle down of empathy and a trickle down of competence that people are recognizing that is a breath of fresh air that, you know, my mother and I need.

57:37Shut up. I'm writing Jennifer out. She has a huge crush on Zoron. I was very confused for a moment. No, she's lying. Jennifer has a huge crush on Zoran She says she doesn't So I've modified it to an intellectually Stimulated crush Okay listen I'm going to let Mabal have it I just have to tell you every day on the podcast It's like oh we're talking about this Well Zoran Mondami says She has Because we need A sane person Right now that has the message To go forward and I think we have to move our party. We have the leaders that we have. This is who we have right now. We're trying to fight against fascism.

58:18So we're trying deep in the Bible Belt to move people this way. And so I cannot thank you enough for having us on. If you win, when you win, the boss of all the mayors is the mayor of Oklahoma City. His name is Mayor David Holt. And he is our friend. He's been on our podcast. And he's the boss of the mayors. It's like the president of the mayor's association or whatever. He's about six foot six. Five. Maybe he's big and tall. Oklahoma City Thunder. 5 '11". I know. He's the nicest man on the planet. He is. The best day of his life was Oklahoma City Thunder winning the NBA title. Yes. We will introduce you when you win.

58:59He is lovely. He is fabulous. And I think mayors do such important work because politicians in red states are consistently disappointing, but we have a lovely mayor in Oklahoma City, and it's very local and fabulous, and he cares about everybody in every single community he advocates for, so it's great. Zoran, thank you for coming. Thank you. This was such a pleasure. I hope you win. Thank you. We got this. We got this. Yeah. I bet you will. We're feeling good. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you.

59:37Listen up, patriots. Gay-triots and natriots, we have a new podcast that has dropped. It's called iHip News. It's Monday through Friday, every day, 15 to 20-minute hot takes on the political landscape of the United States of America, always served with a side of petty grievances. We are on all the available platforms, Apple, Spotify, Google, whatever you get your podcast and YouTube. Please go rate, subscribe, and review so that we will chart upwards with America's greatest legal mind. Pumps. Pumps. What does an eagle say? Caca. A little bit more enthusiasm. Caca. That's it. That's the patriotism that this country needs right there.