{"id":4931,"date":"2026-07-20T13:08:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4931"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:08:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:08:49","slug":"mayor-mamdani-struggles-to-define-who-the-working-class-is-in-a-word-salad-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4931","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Mamdani struggles to define who the ‘working class’ is in a word salad interview"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New York City\u2019s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, struggled to define who the \u201cworking class\u201d is in a word salad response to a question about the people he vows to fight for.<\/p>\n

Read more Argentina\u2019s semifinal hero becomes World Cup final scapegoat after recklessness turns into red card<\/a><\/p>\n

Mamdani, in a lengthy interview with the New York Times published over the weekend, was asked point-blank by journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro, \u201cHow do you define the working class?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if you have to work to pay your bills, I think that that is one definition of being a part of the working class,\u201d he vaguely responded.<\/p>\n

When pushed whether he would consider those who make $250,000 per year as working class, he said, \u201cI haven\u2019t asked myself where it starts and stops.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would say is those who are working to try and afford the basic dignities of life and aren\u2019t able to do so, I think that that is also working class. Oftentimes we\u2019re asked how we divide this country. I think there\u2019s only one majority in this country \u2014 it\u2019s the working class,\u201d he then rambled.<\/p>\n

Confused by the convoluted reponse, Garcia-Navarro admitted that Hizzoner\u2019s description didn\u2019t seem to \u201cring true,\u201d to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just seems a very easy answer to what is a complicated question,\u201d the reporter fought back. \u201cBecause politically, if you\u2019re saying everyone is the working class, or anyone that gets a salary is the working class, yes, that opens up your tent. But practically speaking, we are divided by income \u2014 and especially if you want to tax people, where you draw those lines matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Unhinged NYC vagrant grins as he\u2019s charged with hitting baby girl in stroller: cops<\/a><\/p>\n

Mamdani then said he would draw the line at around $1 million per year \u2014 which Garcia-Navarro pointed out could alienate potential voters such as a janitor who he\u2019s lumped in the same \u201cworking class\u201d category as a successful lawyer.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThat feels like a distinction that might matter,\u201d she told the mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was running, a question I would face was: What does it mean to be a democratic socialist? And I only bring that up because I think sometimes there\u2019s a fixation on a definition of something,\u201d Mamdani attempted to explain.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what I found is, when I would knock on New Yorkers\u2019 doors, they would just ask: Am I part of your vision? It\u2019s not that everyone is making the same amount of money or facing the same amount of struggle, but that they just want to know, is there any way for them to actually be able to work this hard and afford a good life in the city?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Garcia-Navarro then accused him of deflecting from the question by talking about New Yorkers\u2019 wants in \u201cbroad strokes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, I think I\u2019ve defined it to you as someone who works to afford their life,\u201d he shot back. \u201cI also think, no matter how you define it, we have an understanding that those who are struggling to afford the rent, struggling to afford their groceries, struggling to afford child care, are the people who should be at the heart of our vision for what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Pentagon identifies 2 US soldiers killed in weekend attack by Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York City\u2019s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, struggled to define who the \u201cworking class\u201d is in a word salad response to a question about the people he vows to fight for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nMayor Mamdani struggles to define who the 'working class' is in a word salad interview - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4931\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mayor Mamdani struggles to define who the 'working class' is in a word salad interview - 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