Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) delivered a fiery speech over the weekend at a campaign rally supporting Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist candidate for New York City mayor. During her remarks, Ocasio-Cortez directly mentioned former President Donald Trump, framing the local election as part of a broader national struggle against authoritarianism and inequality.
“The election of Zohran is as important as our cause today,” Ocasio-Cortez said before a cheering crowd in Queens. “Child care, buses, rent, and our rights here in New York City — this city is the jewel and the center of all that is possible in America. And on November 4, we will send a loud message to President Donald Trump that his authoritarianism is no good here.”
Ocasio-Cortez went on to emphasize that New York’s diversity and unity stand in contrast to the forces she described as trying to divide the nation.
“This is America — New York City. Don’t let them tell you any different,” she said. “Black and white, Latino and Asian, gay and straight — ordinary people coming together to take on the oligarchy that is Trump’s worst nightmare.”
The event marked one of the largest rallies yet for Mamdani, a progressive state assemblyman who has become a leading figure in the city’s growing socialist movement. Other speakers included labor organizers and community leaders who described Mamdani as a candidate of “working-class solidarity.”
Meanwhile, Trump, now seeking a return to the White House, has criticized Mamdani on his social media platform Truth Social, warning that the candidate’s left-wing agenda would create “problems with Washington like no mayor in history.”
Mamdani’s campaign has drawn both strong enthusiasm and sharp opposition. Supporters praise his focus on housing affordability, public transit, and social equality, while critics argue that his policies are too radical for the city’s business climate.
The rally also highlighted growing national attention on New York’s mayoral race, which some observers see as a test of how far progressive politics can advance in the post-Trump era.
If Mamdani wins in November, it would mark the first time a self-identified socialist has led America’s largest city in over half a century.
