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It turns out you can find common ground with almost anyone.
Zohran Mamdani, the leading New York City mayoral candidate and a Democratic Socialist, said that Elon Musk got at least one thing right about politics.
“We’ve allowed someone like Elon Musk to make it seem as if the concerns of fraud and efficiency and waste, even quality of life — that these are somehow right wing concerns,” Mamdani said at Crain’s New York Business Mayoral Forum on October 8. “These should be at the heart of any politics for working class people.”
On the surface, Mamdani and Musk have very little in common — the mayoral candidate, for example, has said billionaires should not exist, while the Tesla CEO recently became the first person worth $500 billion. After Mamdani won the primary in June, Musk replied to a post on X about one of the mayoral hopeful’s previous statements with a laughing-crying emoji.
Yet Mamdani said that many New Yorkers have lost confidence in politics, partly because governmental systems, like public transportation, have long been inefficient. Slashing waste and streamlining operations were a key focus of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which has largely drawn the ire of Democrats and progressives.
At the forum, Mamdani worked to woo the city’s business community, emphasizing how the public and private sector must work together. He said that he wants to ensure companies can attract top talent and reconsider regulatory loopholes to opening businesses, and even quoted billionaire Jeff Bezos in his opening remarks.
Despite his assurances that he’s pro-business, Mamdani reiterated his support for policies that some wealthy New Yorkers oppose, like reforming property taxes (he mentioned Citadel founder Ken Griffin’s $238 million, four-floor apartment in Manhattan).
He also addressed President Donald Trump’s recent threats to cut off New York City’s federal funding if he wins the election on November 4, calling it an “attempt at political retribution.” If Mamdani is elected and the president makes good on his threats, the assemblyman said he’d first “interrogate the legality” and use “every tool” at his disposal, mentioning the attorney general and governor’s offices.
Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the mayoral race last month, which many saw as a potential boost to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral campaign. Mamdani still has a sizable lead over Cuomo and is widely expected to win next month.
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