Mamdani says Democrats have lost focus on working people

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Democrats have lost focus on working people and urged the party to address rent, housing and daily costs.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the Democratic Party has drifted from working-class concerns, arguing in a recent interview that voters want clearer answers on the cost of living.

Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, made the comments during a June 1 interview with Eugene Daniels on MS NOW. Asked whether Democratic Party leadership understands what people are looking for on issues such as rent, housing, gas and groceries, Mamdani said the party needs to sharpen its focus.

“I think that the party as a whole has lost its focus on working people. And I'm hopeful that we start to develop that,” Mamdani said.

He linked that argument to the party’s New Deal-era identity, saying Democrats once had a more direct message centered on working people. “You look at the four freedoms, you look at the real core of the New Deal, there was a moment when this party was unabashed about its focus on working people. And I'm excited to bring it back there,” he said.

The remarks come as Mamdani continues to press positions that have drawn attention inside and outside his party, including his call to abolish ICE. In the same reporting, he was described as encouraging Democrats to embrace that “uncompromising” position.

Mamdani won New York City’s mayoral election last year as the Democratic candidate. At his Jan. 1, 2026, inauguration, he said, “I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”

His latest comments frame that governing identity as part of a broader argument about where Democrats should aim their message: toward affordability and the material pressures facing working people. Whether party leaders move in that direction remains the question Mamdani is now pressing publicly.