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Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told ‘Fox News @ Night’ Wednesday he believes fears over Zohran Mamdani’s win in the Democratic primary are greatly exaggerated.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, claimed victory in New York City’s Democratic mayor primary Tuesday after former New York governor Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
While the race’s outcome will still need to be decided by a ranked count on July 1, Mamdani’s far-left policy proposals have caused angst among more moderate Democrats.
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De Blasio downplayed these fears, arguing that many of Mamdani’s proposals – such as creating free bus networks, expanding grocery stores and implementing rent control – have been tried in other cities.
“These are not staggering ideas. If he wants to tax the wealthy, he has to get the approval of the legislature. They may or may not give it,” de Blasio said, arguing that the “wealthy” are poised to get generous tax cuts from President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which passed in the House last month.
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“I just think there’s a lot of exaggeration here. And we’re not going to see people leaving in droves,” de Blasio said. “They said it would happen when I became mayor. It didn’t happen. I just don’t buy it.”
De Blasio, who served as New York City Mayor between 2014 and 2022, argued that Mamdani’s success was due to his focus on “kitchen table issues” – something Democrats paid the price for forgetting in the 2024 election cycle.
“Here’s someone who actually talked all day long about affordability, talked about rent. He talked about the basics of life, food, the whole thing that people are struggling to make ends meet,” de Blasio said.
The former mayor predicted that police would not be defunded under a prospective Mamdani administration.
“I think in the end, he’s going to laser focus on the kinds of things that everyday New Yorkers want across the ideological spectrum here, across demographics, because this place is incredibly expensive, and working-class and middle class people are struggling to live here,” de Blasio said.
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