House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Monday he is planning to meet with Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani next week.
“I’m scheduled to meet with him next week and we’ll have a conversation about his vision. He did run a campaign that was actually focused largely on affordability, and that was the right issue to focus on because New York City’s too expensive. America right now is too expensive,” Jeffries said on ABC’s “The View.”
After Mamdani shocked political observers late last month by clinching the Democratic nomination for New York City’s mayor over political heavyweight and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) congratulated him, but did not endorse him.
“Congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on a decisive primary victory,” Jeffries said in a previous post on the social platform X. “Assemblyman Mamdani ran a strong campaign that relentlessly focused on the economy and bringing down the high cost of living in New York City.”
Jeffries later said that Mamdani, who has dealt with criticism over stances on Israel and allegations of antisemitism due to public statements, must get ready to “aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York.”
The House minority leader has also defended Mamdani after President Trump said he was “not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York.”
“Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!” Trump added last week.
“Stop lying about Assemblyman Mamdani. He is neither a communist nor a lunatic. And New York City doesn’t need to be saved by a wannabe King. Besides, you are too busy destroying America with your One Big Ugly Bill to do anything else,” Jeffries responded in a post on X.
The Hill has reached out to the Mamdani campaign for further comment.
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