Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2025-11-05 Wednesday

Episode Date: November 5, 2025

Democracy Now! Wednesday, November 5, 2025

From New York, this is Democracy Now. But as Eugene Debs once said, I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity. After running an historic campaign focused on affordability, Zoran Mamdani has defeated Andrew Cuomo in the New York mayoral race. The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist will become New York's first Muslim and first South Asian mayor and the youngest in a century.

In his victory speech Tuesday night, Mamdani sent a defiant message to President Trump. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this, to get to any of us, you will have to get through

all of us. We'll air excerpts of Mamdani's speech and hear from Congresswoman Alexandria Cassio-Cortez, the writer Naomi Klein and others who attended Mamdani's Pact Victory Party. Plus, we look at how Democrats scored major victories, including in California, Virginia,

New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in what's being described as a repudiation of the Trump agenda. All that and more coming up. Welcome to Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Democratic Socialists, Zohan Mamdani, was elected New York's mayor Tuesday, becoming the first person of South Asian descent and the first Muslim, and the youngest in over a century to hold a position. The election was marked by record voter turnout. Mamdani got more than a million votes, more than any mayor, since the 1960s. President Trump had threatened to withhold funding from New York City if Mamdani won.

On election day, Trump even posted any Jewish person who votes for Mamdani is stupid. Last night at his victory party in Brooklyn, Mamdani directly addressed President Trump. This is not only how we stop Trump, it's how we stop the next one. So Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you. Turn the volume up. New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, power by immigrants. And as of tonight, led by an immigrant.

Zoran Mamdani's victory comes as Democrats posted big wins across the country on election day. In California, voters approved a new congressional map that could help Democrats pick up five additional seats in Congress and a move to counter Texas's redistricting effort to gain five-house seats. In New Jersey, Democratic Congress member Mikey Sherrill won the governor's race. In Virginia, Democrats reclaim full control of the state's executive branch as Abigail Spanberger flipped the governorship becoming the state's first female governor. voters also chose Gazala Hashmi to be Virginia's lieutenant governor-elect, making her the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office anywhere in the United States. Meanwhile, Democrat J. Jones defeated Virginia's incumbent Republican Republic Attorney General. In Pennsylvania, Democrats retained control of the state Supreme Court after three Democratic justices won their races. In Minneapolis,

Democratic mayor, Jacob Fry, led Democratic Socialist challenger Omar Fata, but neither got more than half the vote. So the race moves to a second round of ranked choice voting. We'll have more on late nights, last night's election results after headlines. The federal government shutdown has entered its 36th day, becoming the longest shutdown in U.S. history. On Tuesday, the Senate rejected a House-pass funding bill for the first. 14th time as Democrats demand an extension to health insurance premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. A recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found allowing the subsidies to expire would more than double the average enrollees out-of-pocket premium payments with some people

seeing even larger increases of over 500%. On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean, on Duffy, warned the U.S. could be forced to close vast swaths of U.S. airspace due to severe shortages of air traffic controllers, about 11,000 of whom have gone without pay throughout the shutdown. Duffy cautioned of mass chaos at airports if the shutdown continues for another week. Mere hours after Duffy's comments, a UPS freight plane crashed at a Louisville, Kentucky airport, killing at least seven people, leaving 11 others injured. Meanwhile, President Trump Tuesday, appeared to defy federal court orders in a social media post in which he proclaimed SNAP food assistance benefits, quote, will be given only when

the radical left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before, unquote. That's despite orders from two separate federal judges mandating, The administration keep funding SNAP, which helps some 42 million people purchase groceries each month. On Tuesday's lawyers for cities and nonprofits return to court seeking an order forcing the Trump administration to pay SNAP benefits rapidly and in full. This is Dalitia Chung, a SNAP recipient in Maryland who predicted any further delays could lead to civil unrest. They ask her for trouble. because people got children to feed, you know, and people know people will go off on that. Now, I don't know if anybody trying to declare martial law under stuff like that,

but you can send off a lot of huge problems. People have to eat. In the Gaza Strip, Israel's militaries targeting eastern areas, Juan Yunus and Gaza City with intense artillery fire, despite the U.S. broker. ceasefire that took effect nearly a month ago. The shellings, targeting farms, homes and other civilian areas. It comes as a U.N. official warned aid groups are in a race against time to get food and other necessities into Gaza. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, Israeli authorities have rejected 23 requests from nine aid groups to bring in millions of urgently needed

non-food items that remain stuck in Jordan, Egypt, and Israel, awaiting a approval. That includes some 4,000 pallets of shelter supplies such as tents, bedding, and blankets. This is Manal Salam, a Palestinian mother of seven whose families displaced in living in a tattered tent in Khan Yunus. Winter, we do not want to talk about winter because the fears are very big. Our tents are completely worn out. We are unable. We do not know what to do. It is not just me. Most of the tents at the school are worn out. We just say, God have mercy on us for the winter. As much as we used to pray for rain to come, now we pray that rain does not come so that we do not struggle. Earlier today, Israel handed over the remains of 15 Palestinians a day

after Hamas returned the body of an Israeli-American soldier. That brings the total number of Palestinian bodies returned to Gaza as part of the ceasefire to 285, just a fraction of what's believed to be more than 1,500 bodies held by Israel. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's drafted a U.N. Security Council Resolution, seeking a mandate of at least two years for an international stabilization force to be deployed in Gaza. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned in response that any such force must have, quote, full international legitimacy, unquote. The United Nations top official has warned Sudan's civil war is spiraling out of control

after the rapid support forces paramilitary group seized control of the city of Elfasher in Sudan's North Darfur region. On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez warned hundreds of thousands of civilians remained trapped by fighting with large numbers dying of malnutrition, disease, and violence. Gutierrez cited reports of war crimes and human rights abuses. including summary executions and sexual assaults. Survivors who fled Al-Fasher reported mass killings following the RSF's advance. Once you leave the gates, the bodies start.

The bodies continue all the way to gari. Some were killed by thirst, some by exhaustion, some by their injuries, the bleeding. Some were injured by the rockets in Al-Fashire. They hurt more than gunshots. the shrapnel. They get into your body. They cause your legs to swell. Stop your blood flow. It exhausts you. It impacts you within two or three hours. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. has bombed another boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean. On Tuesday, Hegseth claimed without evidence the latest attack targeted a boat furrying drugs, killing two people on board. If the Pentagon's claims are accurate, that would bring the number of vessels

attack to 16 and the death toll to at least 67. This comes as the Pentagon's deploying its largest warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier to join a buildup of U.S. forces in the Caribbean. The Trump administration's drafted plans to deploy U.S. troops and intelligence officers to Mexico to attack drug labs and narco-trafficking leaders. That's according to NBC news, citing current and former U.S. officials. On Tuesday, Mexican press, President Claudia Schaenbaum denied the reports declaring it's not going to happen. First of all, it would be a violation of our sovereignty and our independence. And second, we can't collaborate. We can't coordinate.

But it's not about the United States coming to say or to intervene or to have their agents because that didn't work either. And a new UN Environment Report warns nations have made very little progress in the fight against climate change, putting the world on track toward dangerous global warning as greenhouse gas emissions remain too high. The UN's annual emissions gap report suggests countries will not be able to prevent global warming from surpassing 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is the main goal of the Paris Agreement that was brokered a decade ago. UN experts say warming is likely to reach between 2.3 and 2.5 degrees Celsius with a possibility

of even higher temperatures if countries don't fulfill their current climate pledges. This is interim director of the UN Environment Program Ann O'Hawth. Well, it's a guarantee that unless we do things

very differently from what we have been doing in the past many years, we will not see an overshoot of 1.5 degrees. We'll see a permanent breach of 1.5 degrees. So it's really about

making as stringent and as quick cuts as, as possible oval. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the war and peace report.

I'm Amy Goodman. On Tuesday, Democrats won major victories across the United States, including in California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and here in New York, in what's widely being seen as a repudiation of President Trump's agenda, in the most closely watched race, Zoran Mamdani, won the New York mayoral race, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo. The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist State Assembly member will become the first Muslim and first South Asian to serve as New York mayor.

In June, he shocked the political establishment when he beat Cuomo in the Democratic primary. Cuomo went on to run in the general election as an independent, but on Tuesday, Mamdani defeated him again. A year ago, Mamdani was polling at just one. percent. But he built a historic grassroots coalition to fuel what Senator Bernie Sanders has called, quote, one of the great political upsets in modern American history, unquote. On Tuesday, Zoran Mandani became the first New York mayoral candidate to win over a million votes since the 1960s, more than Rudy Giuliani or Mike Bloomberg ever received. Mamdani has received 50.4% of the votes counted so far.

Cuomo's at 41.6%. Republican Curtis Lee was at 7.1%. Mamdani won even though many prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Senator, refused to endorse him. Mamdani was also vastly outspent by Cuomo, who's backed by a group of billionaires. President Trump endorsed Cuomo and repeatedly threatened to cut off federal funds to New York if Mamdani won. On Tuesday night, Zoran Mamdani addressed supporters who packed into the Brooklyn Paramount. He began his speech by quoting the late labor leader and socialist Eugene Debs.

The sun may have set over our city this evening. But as Eugene Debs once said, I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity. For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands. Fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor. palms callous from delivery by candle bars, knuckles scarred with kitchen burns. These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power. And yet over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater.

Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. The future is in our hands. My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty. I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life. But let tonight be the final time I utter his name as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few. New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change. A mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford, and a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.

On January 1st, I will be sworn in as the mayor of New York City. And that is because of you. So before I say anything else, I must say this. Thank you. Thank you to the next generation of New Yorkers who refused to accept that the promise of a better future was a relic of the past. You showed that when politics speaks to you without condescension, we can usher in a new era of leadership.

We will fight for you because we are you. Or as we say on Steinway, anaminkum wailakum. Thank you to those so often forgotten by the politics of our city who made this movement their own. I speak of Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas. Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek nurses. Trinidadian line cooks and Ethiopian aunties. Yes, aunties. to every New Yorker in Kensington and Midwood and Hunts Point.

Know this. This city is your city and this democracy is yours too. This campaign is about people like Wesley. An 1199 organizer I met outside of Elmhur. hospital on Thursday night. A New Yorker who lives elsewhere, who commutes two hours each way from Pennsylvania because rent is too expensive in this city. It's about people like the woman I met on the BX 33 years ago who said to me, I used to love New York, but now it's just where I live. And it's about people like Richard.

The taxi driver I went on a 15-day hunger strike with outside of City Hall. Who still has to drive his cab seven days a week. My brother, we are in City Hall now. Standing before you, I think of the words of Jawal al-Neru. A moment comes but rarely in history. When we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of the nation long suppressed finds utterance, tonight we have stepped out from the old into the new. So let us speak now with clarity and conviction that cannot be misunderstood about what this new age will deliver and for whom.

This will be an age where New Yorkers expect from their lives. leaders a bold vision of what we will achieve rather than a list of excuses for what we are too timid to attempt. Central to that vision will be the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost of living crisis that this city has seen since the days of Fiora LaGuardia. An agenda that will freeze the rents for more than two years. million rent-stabilized tenants. Together, we will usher in a generation of change. And if we embrace this brave new course, rather than fleeing from it, we can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves.

After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it's how we stop the next one. So Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you. Turn the volume up. We will hold bad landlords to account because the Donald Trumps of our city have grown far too comfortable taking advantage of their tenants.

We will put an end to the culture of corruption that has allowed billion. like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks. We will stand alongside unions and expand labor protections because we know, just as Donald Trump does, that when working people have ironclad rights, the bosses who seek to extort them become very small indeed. New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants. And as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this.

To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. When we enter City Hall in 58 days, expectations will be high. We will meet them. A great New Yorker once said that while you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose. If that must be true, let the prose we write still rhyme and let us build a shining city for all. And we must chart a new path, as bold as the one we have already traveled. After all, the conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate.

I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this. Speaking at his victory party Tuesday night at the Brooklyn Paramount, after he won the New York City mayoral race, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo. After his speech, he was joined on stage by his wife, Ramaduaji, and his parents, the filmmaker Mira Nair, and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. Coming up, we hear from New York Congresswoman Alexandria Casio Cortez, the writer Naomi. Klein, city controller, Bradlander, and many others at Mondani's Victory Party.

Stay with us. Flamed my friends come by I know that I'm spinning And I try to wait But I'm still training This flame in my heart You know it's hard to kill Now for nothing

No, it's burning still by Coolwhip featuring our very own archivist, Brendan Allen. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, The Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. We're continuing our coverage of Zoran Mamdani's historic victory in the New York mayoral race over former governor Andrew Cuomo. On Tuesday night, Democracy Now was at Mamdani's victory party at the historic Brooklyn Paramount. More than a thousand people packed in. We spoke to just a few of his supporters. My name is Sumaya Awad, and I'm a member of New York City DSA.

And I am, to say I'm excited and ecstatic and relieved as an understatement. I mean, we have fought so hard for this right before the primary. and then now in the last couple of months and the last couple weeks, and today I've been canvassing since 9 a.m. And I feel exhausted, but it's the best kind of exhausted because it's exhaustion from something

I believe it with every fiber of my body and that I know that the majority of New Yorkers believe in. And we haven't felt that. I haven't felt that in my lifetime. Tell us what it is you believe in. It's a politician and an agenda that is truly for working class people. And one that doesn't put the,

platform and the mission at the expense of anyone. He has not left anyone out of what he is fighting for. And he's made it clear whether you support him or not, he is fighting for us. What did you say? NBC just called it for Zoran. What do you think? I'm so, so happy. I've been awake since 4.30 in the morning today out canvassing in Park, Slovak and Prospect Heights. And we've been working towards us for a year. And I'm just so happy to win the New York City that we deserve. What's your name? Where are you from? And my name's Ruby. I live in Crown Heights. Woo!

Hi. Can you tell me your names and what do you think? I'm Harrison and I'm thrilled. We've been canvassing since February, January and it's so happy to see all of our work pay off. It feels surreal that it's actually

here and that it's happening. Yeah, it's so crazy. What is it about Sorin Mamdani that led you to support him? And what is your name? I'm Janie. He just has an inspired hope. I feel like across the city in a way that no one has in a long time. Yeah, a lot of us didn't want to vote for a Democrat who we felt like we had to, you know, choose over another person. So, yeah. As you can hear you, they have just called it for Zoran Mamdani.

And here we are in the Brooklyn Paramount. What's your name is Ben? I couldn't be more excited. What couldn't be more excited? What group are you with? I'm an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace. We've worked really hard for this moment. I'm so excited to celebrate with everybody.

Did you think you'd see this day? I was confident. I was confident. Yeah, yeah. What do you say about Donald Trump saying today that any Jew who votes for Zorn Mbondani is stupid? It's anti-Semitic nonsense. It's bigotry, plain and simple.

And we're sick of anti-Semitism being weaponized against Palestinian people and against our own communities as well. What do you want to see Zoranam Dhani do as mayor? Making New York City a city a city for everybody. A city we can afford, a city where people can lead dignified lives. My name is Durala Hajar. I really, I don't know what to say. I mean, it's been a very hard few years with the genocide.

And this is the first, the news. that we've had. It feels like, like, truly, truly good news. Something to really look forward to and celebrate. What about local issues here in New York? What most appeals to you about Mamdani? Well, I mean, I think that, so I'm a social worker by training. And I think that the way that he is construing public safety issues as not, you know,

not criminalizing mental health issues is very, very significant. And I think we'll change how we think of safety and security in New York City, which is something that I know is on the minds of a lot of people. My name is Jack Brees Singh. I'm the political director at Drum Beats. And I feel amazing. I feel ecstatic. I'm on top of the world. It's going to be a couple of days until I come back down. Hi, my name is Nabila. I'm the youth organizer at Drum Beats. It's well known that, while young people are very enthusiastic, they're the least likely to vote. What's your response to that? I think this just goes to show when we have a candidate that actually cares about the popular issues that affect everyone

and someone who's charismatic and who doesn't talk down to you, you finally have a youth that's ready to show the energy they've always had. It's just that they've been marginalized all those times. Hi, my name is Keanu, Arpal's Josiah. Yeah, I'm with Sunrise Movement in New York City. So, what are your feelings right now? I'm joyful. This is the beginning of a new future for New York City, a future where we have a politics that works for our generation,

for affordability, fights the climate crisis, fights the billionaire class taking over our government, stands up to fascism, and stands up for our issues. This is a moment where all of politics is changing. New York City is changing. New York City is standing up and demanding a different future for our world, for our country, and for our city. I couldn't be more excited. How will it change what you do? It means the same for us in some ways, and it means everything is different in other ways. It means collaboration. It means the politics of working with those in office to deliver the agenda, but it also means the politics of accountability. We need to be with Saran celebrating today, and we need to be talking with him tomorrow to make his agenda a reality.

We need to be standing alongside. We can't just be yelling at each other, but we have to have collaboration and accountability. And it means we need to fight Governor Hochel, who's trying to build causal fuel pipelines through New York City that Mamdani opposes. We need to fight to tax the rich, and we need to fight Washington as it attacks our community. My name is Simone Zimmerman. I'm part of the Jews for Zoran campaign. I'm on a board member of Jews for racial and economic justice action. And I'm over the moon.

I don't know. This is it. Trump called the Jews who voted for Zoran stupid. But look, we're in a moment right now where we have an administration that is using racism and fear and is sowing terror in cities around the country. And Jews are not different from many other Americans. We see the hatred and the racism that they're spreading. that they're spreading and we're terrified of it.

And despite the fact that millions of dollars were poured into this race to scare the living daylights out of Jewish voters, I think we're going to see so many people see in Zoran a vision of safety and belonging in the city that they want to be part of despite the fact that over and over again they were told you don't belong, you don't belong. And Zoran worked so hard to go to synagogue, to reach out to Jewish communities across the city, Jewish communities of such ideological and religious diversity and say you belong here and I think people believe him,

and I think that tonight we're saying that. My name is Fahad Ahmed, and I'm the director of Drumbeats. This campaign was successful because it had a movement behind it, and it was successful because it spoke to the material needs of people. This is a very strong message to the entire country. It's not only Republicans who are organized against Mayor Mamdani. It's the Democratic Party as well. What are your thoughts on that?

Yeah. You know, in our work we talk about that the, it is the policies of the centrist, whether they're Democrats or some of the old Republicans, that created the conditions that caused the rise of the right. When people need aren't being met, they need an alternative. And so far, only the far right was providing an alternative in the form of authoritarianism, in the form of fascism, in the form of hate, turning against immigrants, against queer people, against not. Muslims. And what this campaign and our movement was able to do was offer a left alternative. I'm James Davis. I'm the president of the professional staff Congress, CUNY, the CUNY Faculty and Staff Union. You were among the first unions to endorse Zoran Mondani. We were. I mean, we've known Zoran since his time in the Assembly. So we knew that even though

he was a long-shot candidate, he would have tremendous message discipline. And in a time like now, when there's Trumpism from the federal government, we also knew that his message was going to resonate among working New Yorkers. We see what President Trump has done with the budget bill as a massive transfer of wealth to the already wealthiest. So part of our agenda is making sure that there's additional progressive taxation so that the public services, including the City University of New York, can be properly funded so we can have not just an affordable education, but a high quality education that our students deserve. Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the New York State Working Families Party. We are feeling proud of our success. We endorse Zoran Early, and tonight he got over 140,000 votes on the working family's ballot line.

He himself voted for himself on the working family's ballot line. So we're ready to continue to build power to make his agenda a reality to help all New Yorkers. Walid Shahid, I'm a political strategist. I'm South Asian and I'm Muslim. I think the campaign that Zoran started was based in the fact that so many Muslim Americans, South Asian Americans, Arab Americans felt left out of the Democratic Party because of the party's support of Benjamin Netanyahu's war crimes. And Zoran made an effort to include those people in the Democratic Party and the Democratic primary process in a way that so many politicians were unwilling to do. and I think you're seeing the results of that tonight is that not only was it Muslims and South Asians and Arabs

but young Jews, young people of all backgrounds, wanted to see a candidate who had conviction and courage whether it was about opposing war and genocide or is standing up to the real estate lobby in this city that they wanted a candidate who was consistent and I think Zorn represents that in many ways and is like the representative of the future of a lot of what American politics is going to look like.

I'm Shahana Hanif. New York City. council member representing the 39th district in Brooklyn, which includes Park Slope, Kensington, and I feel amazing. So how will the city council operate differently now with Mayor Mugdoni? Look, we'll have a partner. We will have a partner who shares similar values and a progressive agenda that has not been supported by Mayor Adams. You know, we had a mayor who consistently vetoed signature legislation that would transform

New Yorkers' lives. He vetoed ending solitary confinement in our city jails. He vetoed adding more accountability and transparency to our police force. He vetoed expanding vouchers for people who are

in shelters, warehouse for years. This mayor, this new mayor, cares so deeply about the working people, the working class people of New York City, and his agenda is more aligned with the current progressive New York City Council. My name is Khalid Latif. I'm the director of the Islamic Center of New York City.

So here you are. Zarmam Dhani is about to take the stage. He has won the race for mayor. He will be the first Muslim mayor. Did you ever think you'd see this day? Yeah, you know, it's so remarkable. I've known Zaraan for years, and everything you see him to be and he presents himself as is who he actually is. Really sincere, deep conviction, a genuine love for people.

And I think for us, as Muslims in New York City, with so much of the rhetoric that we've seen over decades, but especially ramping up into this night for him to come and win this so quickly. and so many people from so many walks of life being here behind him tonight, just as a testament to who it is he is, it's really remarkable. Can you read that for me what it says on the screen? Zeran right now has over 50% of the votes, 972,000 votes in total, and it's just going to keep coming in. He's a remarkable young man, and New York is behind him right now.

Did you think this was possible? You know, I think early on when he started, people probably didn't know what to expect. But as things started to go, I was there the night of the primary and just the hope that was in the room and the sheer shock that people had that he won so quickly. I think everybody knew we were going to get to this place right now. And it's just the start of a lot of good things. I believe that we I believe that we I believe that we have won

I believe that we have won I believe that we have won Some of the many supporters and organizers at Zoran Mamdani's victory party Tuesday night at the Brooklyn Paramount. Mamdani thanked the more than 104,000 volunteers who propelled him to victory in the New York mayoral race.

Special thanks to Democracy Now's Hani Massoud and Anjali Komet. At the celebration, I had a chance to briefly speak with Democratic Congresswoman Alexandra Casio-Cortez of New York. The new mayor of New York City, the first Muslim mayor of New York, your thoughts.

I mean, Zohran Mamdani, of course, a historic candidate, a tremendous moment for the people of New York. We showed that we're not going to be bullied, we're not going to be intimidated, we're going to fight for working families, we're going to stand with immigrants, we're going to stand with the diversity of this city, and we're also going to make sure that, first and foremost, that this is a city that working people will not be displaced out of. What do you say to President Trump, who says he withhold billions of dollars from New York, make it impossible for Zora and Mamdani to govern? Well, you know, I think that President Trump was born in New York City, and he knows that if you mess with New York, you mess with the whole country. And so, you know, I think this isn't a city that doesn't fight back. That's New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria, Casio-Cortez, at Zoran Mamdani's Victory Party.

I also spoke with the Canadian journalist, author, and activist, and professor, Naomi Klein. Start off by saying your name and your feelings right now. My name is Naomi Klein, and I'm levitating. This is such an incredible proof of concept. I've had to fight fascism. You know, Doran immediately after Trump's election, went out and talked to Trump voters. People who've never voted for Trump before.

Black and brown people in working class neighborhoods didn't vilify them. Just listen to them. I talked to Zoran for the first time a week after Trump's election. And what he said to me was everything is broken for people. Like the elevator and their public housing hasn't been fixed for 10 months. Nothing is working. so it's so easy for someone like Trump to come along and be like, blame the immigrant, bring the unhoused person.

And his entire campaign was about proving that if you actually meet people's real needs and raise the floor and say, okay, let's freeze the rent. Let's have free and pass buses. Let's have universal child care. Let's address that sense of scarcity and insecurity at its root that it can call people back from the fact.

fascist abyss, and he won tonight. He proved that that is that works. This movement, this is anti-fascism, and it is also the antithesis of fascism. Because fascists want everybody to be the same. They celebrate conformity, uniformity, sameness, hierarchy. Look at New York is the most unruly city. The entire campaign was a love letter. to the diversity, linguistic, faith, cultural, diversity of the city at a time when the Republicans never stop boring hate onto cities and make people afraid of each other, right? Naomi Klein, speaking last night at Zoran Mamdani's victory party in Brooklyn. I also spoke to a New York official who also ran for me.

mayor in the Democratic primary. Can you identify yourself and your position and what you did with Zoran Mubbush? I'm New York City Controller Bradlander. You know, I was a candidate for mayor. I cross-endorsed with Zoran in the primary, as it was clear that he was the candidate with the best chance to win. We took Andrew Cuomo on together in the second mayoral debate in the primary. The rank choice voting was so significant.

Choice voting made a huge difference for us to build a slate of a team of people committed to a more affordable and a more humane city and who said he can't be, Andrew Cuomo can't be anywhere near City Hall. And then I've worked really hard in the general election. Obviously, you know, to have a Muslim New Yorker and a Jewish New Yorker say we are not going to allow Andrew Cuomo or Eric Adams or Donald Trump or Elon Musk or Stephen Miller to weaponize fear. and pit us against each other, the only way that we'll be safe as if we're all safe. And your response to President Trump saying any Jew who votes for Zoran is stupid? Well, what I did today was to quote Ethics of the Fathers, or Pier Kaya Vote, which says, you know, who is wise, he who learns from everyone, and who's a fool, he who can't learn a damn thing. So Donald Trump doesn't get to tell us how to be Jewish,

he sure can't tell smart from stupid. And I'll tell you this, like, if he comes for New York City, it's not going to be Donald Trump versus Zoran Mamdani. It's going to be Donald Trump versus New York City. And I think when they write the history books, maybe they'll say when Trump started to lose, it was when he came for New York after we elected Zoran. And just like we said, good f***in' riddins to Andrew Cuomo

would do the same to Donald Trump. So you're the city controller. You know what it means for President Trump to say, he would pull billions from the city. Yeah, look, I mean, Elon Musk stole $80 million from New York in February, and Eric Adams couldn't say a damn word about it. So having a mayor was going to stand up and fight on our behalf, bring us together, organize us to help stand up,

that's how we win. That's our money. It's not Donald Trump's money, however much he might think it is. So this is certainly a message to all of the United States, not only the Republican Party, but the deal. Democratic Party as well, which is clearly fighting back. I mean, leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Senator Schumer, never even endorsed the Democratic candidate for mayor, Zoran Mamdani. What do you say to him? What do you say to the party? In the last 24 hours, Donald Trump endorsed Andrew Cuomo, Stephen Miller endorsed Andrew Cuomo,

Elon Musk endorsed Andrew Cuomo. So Democrats who couldn't stand up and say, we're with Zoro in a fight against that MAGA, you know, cabal, we need a party that is broad. It's got to include moderates, of course it does. And when they win primaries in the right seats where they're representing their constituents, then of course we'll go support them. But when progressive candidates like Zoran win, then moderates have got to support them as well. That's the only way we could build a popular front that's going to be sufficient to stand up to this authoritarian president.

That's New York City controller Brad Lander at Zoran Mamdani's mayoral victory party at the Brooklyn Paramount. When we come back, we'll look at how Democrats scored major victories across the country, including

in California, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in what's been described as a repudiation of the Trump agenda. Stay with us. Charch, raga, your berna, always. Charched rag, there's bernan always. Charch, rag,

your berna, ma'amah, ma'alan, ah, now I'm choule, la'an, oh, panjua, Khami Bala'i Balajoule-Lanah, Zendri Sassar and Sani Singh. Here on Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. I'm Amy Goodman. election saw Democrats post big wins across the United States. In California, voters passed

Proposition 50, approving a new congressional map that could help Democrats pick up five additional congressional seats in a move to counter Texas's redistricting effort to help Republicans gain five House seats. In New Jersey, Democratic Congress member Mikey Cheryl won the governor's race defeating Jack Chitorelli. In Virginia, Democrats reclaim full control of the state's executive branch as Abigail Spanberger flipped the governorship becoming Virginia's first female governor. Virginia voters also chose Gazala Hashmi to be Virginia's lieutenant governor, making her the first Muslim woman elected to statewide office anywhere in the United States. Meanwhile, Democrat Jay Jones defeated Virginia's incumbent Republican Attorney General. In Minneapolis, Democratic

Mayor Jacob Frye led Democratic socialist challenger Omar Fata, but neither got more than 50, percent of the votes, so the race moves to a second round of ranked choice voting. And in Pennsylvania, Democrats retain control of the state Supreme Court after three justices won their races. For more, we go to Washington, D.C., where we're joined by Daniel Nishanian, editor-in-chief of Bolts, who covered the general election closely. We welcome you back to Democracy Now. Daniel Nachanian start off by just talking about the national picture. Well, thank you for having me. And, you know, it was really, there's no other way to put it, an epic night for Democrats.

Last night, I've been following election nights for a long time. And I've never really quite seen this level of systematic win for pretty much anything that there was to win between the parties for a Democratic candidate. You already named a lot of the big picture races. But it was pretty much anywhere that there was an election. yesterday. There was just a small earthquake or a big earthquake in favor of Democrats. So let me give you just one big picture example, that there were 13 statewide races yesterday for statewide office. There was the ones you mentioned. There was one in Jersey, three in Virginia, two in Georgia, as well as seven in Pennsylvania, all judges. And Democrats won all 13 of these races. And they won. by comfortable margins raging from six points to 24 points. That's right. In Georgia, Democrats won two seats by 24 points.

And what's super interesting is that Democrats had never won a statewide race for a race that is a federal for a state government in 20 years, almost 20 years. And they won them by 24 points last night. And if you move down ballot to county-level races, to city races, you are seeing the same thing over and over again. of Democrats winning counties or offices that they hadn't won for a long time. Democrats broke the Republican supermajority in the Mississippi upper chamber. Democrats won the most seats they have in the Virginia House since the 80s.

Democrats flipped Iri County, Pennsylvania. Democrats flipped Onondaga County in New York for the first time since the 70s. And I could go on and I'm not going to do that. but also to, I think, maybe another last place to look at is even if you go all the way down to school board races, you know, that was really the center of the conservative ideological takeover in 2021, 2022, a lot of conservative takeovers at the school board level. Even there, we're seeing a lot of conservatives lose their seats in Colorado, in Pennsylvania, in Texas. So that, I think, really gives you an idea of the sort of night that we're speaking about. So in California, Prop 50, very quickly, your response.

Right. So Prop 50 was a very important part of this war that is happening right now on for the U.S. House next year in California, Democrats responded to efforts by Republicans elsewhere to draw maps in their favor. And that itself is going to shift five seats in favor of Democrats. I think a big takeaway yesterday of the type of swings that I was just describing as well. Again, we're talking about a 24-point win in Virginia, large wins in Virginia, Jersey, is that Republicans could get a little spooked, a little scared about the type of maps that they're drawing that are not necessarily equipped to with hand the type of wave that we saw last night. So that's also something to watch whether Republicans continue now to try and

draw the maps in their favor as they've been planning to in places like Florida or Indiana. The significance of the three liberal judges in Pennsylvania keeping their seats? Right. I mean, there's so much to talk about. There were three races for the state court, for the state's highest court in Pennsylvania, the biggest swing state in the nation. And Republicans were really hopeful to take back to court in advance of the 28 presidential election, because this is a state where President Trump kept suing to try and overturn the 2020 result and kept losing at the state's highest court. And yesterday was the Republican opportunity to erase the majority that Democrats enjoy there.

Democrats won those races very easily. They are now very likely to hold that court until 2029. And in Minneapolis, now neither candidate, the mayor, or Omar Fata got 50%. So explain what happens right now between Jacob Frye and Omar Fata. It's right choice voting. That is one of the main mayoral races we were watching as a companion of what's happening in New York that you've covered during the show where there was a more centrist incumbent mayor running against a progressive challenger. In the first round of voting, there's about a nine percentage point gap, something like that, between Frye, who's who's who's, who's, who's, who's,

who's ahead and Fatay who's second, but now we move to rank choice voting, their third, fourth candidate that got a large share of the vote, and a lot of them are aligned more with the left and with Omar Fate's campaign, so we could see a very tight election when the rank choice is run at some point, I think, in this afternoon. And it's significant. So he is called Omar Fata, the Mamdani of the Midwest, but of Mandani himself and And President Trump saying overall, he wrote, Trump wasn't on the ballot and shutdown were the two reasons that Republicans lost elections tonight.

He refers to himself in the third person. The shutdown and that he himself wasn't on the ballot. I mean, I just heard the excerpts from his speech earlier in the program. And when he said, you know, I am an immigrant that's such an important part of his win, of his victory. And that was very striking, first, because of the Islamophobic campaign that really was ran against them in the final weeks of the campaign. Also because, as you mentioned, a few minutes ago, there was the first Muslim woman to win a statewide office anywhere in the country that really stands as a companion result, given that context. But also because we saw the topic of immigration and ICE and obviously Trump's agenda around those issues be very important around the country. Just as one example, the Republican nominee for governor.

Okay. Well, there were a lot of races where immigration was on the ballot and a big issue, and that's what I was going to end with. Daniel Nishaney, and you got a lot in there. Editor-in-chief of bolts. We'll link to your coverage of the elections at DemocracyNow.org. I'll be in St. Louis Friday night. Check our website, DemocracyNow.org.