3 hours ago
2
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appeared on "The Daily Show" on Monday, when he spoke to host Jon Stewart about the upcoming election and the impact endorsements have had on the race.
Stewart told Mamdani he was surprised that the "Democratic establishment" didn't embrace the energy surrounding his campaign — aside from receiving House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' last-minute endorsement. Stewart sarcastically called that "brave." "Does that bother you?" the Comedy Central host asked.
"It’s interesting in many ways because our politics and the media that covers it is often focused on the question of endorsements. And it's part of what gave [Andrew] Cuomo the sense of inevitability in the primary," Mamdani replied. "He just seemed to pick up all of these different endorsements. And I think what we showed, in many ways, was that the days of endorsements deciding elections, those days have come to an end. It’s the people who build up a campaign."
ZOHRAN MAMDANI LANDS LONG-WAITED KEY ENDORSEMENT IN NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL RACE
Zohran Mamdani on "The Daily Show" on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (Screenshot/Comedy Central)
He added that he appreciated Jeffries' endorsement, and even more so, appreciated that when the two have spoken, "it's been about: how do we deliver for our shared constituents?"
"These are the same New Yorkers, whether we're representing them in City Hall, or in Albany, or in D.C. — and like you said, we've been telling them time and again that all we have to offer is not Trump," Mamdani noted. "But this is also the city that created Trump. We have to reckon with that."
Waiting until the last opportunity before early voting started on Saturday, Jeffries articulated his position via a statement early Friday afternoon, throwing his political clout behind Mamdani.
"Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a Mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy," said Jeffries. "The communities I represent in Brooklyn are being devastated by this extreme version of the Republican Party. In this environment, we have a clear obligation to push back against the national nightmare being visited on the American people by Republican extremism."
The mayoral candidate argued that while many have claimed the Democratic Party has been struggling to motivate younger voters, his campaign has proven that with the right message, that problem ceases to exist.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Mamdani for Mayor of New York City on Friday. (Angelina Katsanis-Pool/Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"After the presidential election, there were all these obituaries written about the Democratic Party’s ability to motivate young voters. And there’s just this condescension in the language that we use about young people," Mamdani explained. "And I can just tell you that what we found in this campaign is that young people have been at the heart of believing that something could be more than this."
He continued, recalling that, over the course of the primary election, he would often repeat a quote from former NYC Mayor Ed Koch: "If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. 12 out of 12, see a psychiatrist."
"I'm in Washington Square Park. I'm filming a video with David Hogg. And this young guy comes up to me and goes, ‘12 out of 12, baby! Send me away!’" Mamdani recounted.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
A recent poll shows former Gov. Andrew Cuomo trailing Mamdani just a week out from the election. (Angelina Katsanis/Pool via Reuters; Mike Segar/Reuters)
With just over a week until Election Day, Mamdani holds a double-digit lead in the high-profile race for the nation's most populous city, but former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is narrowing the gap, according to a new public opinion poll.
The 34-year-old democratic socialist stands at 44% support among likely voters in the most recent survey in the race, from Suffolk University. Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid multiple scandals and who is running as an independent candidate in the general election after losing the primary, had 34% support in the survey.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
