Latest / The Front / How Trump plans to destroy Zohran Mamdani

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How Trump plans to destroy Zohran Mamdani · The Front

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  Speaker 1: From the Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
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  Speaker 1: It's Thursday, November sixth, twenty twenty five. Mining bosses want
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  Speaker 1: Indigenous Australians to grow their prosperity by claiming ownership of minds,
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  Speaker 1: petroleum leases, processing facilities and infrastructure. It's no longer enough
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  Speaker 1: to brag about Aboriginal companies winning contracts. They need to
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  Speaker 1: be focusing on ownership, says the Minerals Council of Australia.
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  Speaker 1: The worst he's ever seen. That's the assessment of Wednesday's
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  Speaker 1: Question Time by our national editor Dennis Shanahan. He's been
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  Speaker 1: covering politics for decades and says he's never seen a
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  Speaker 1: federal opposition behave quite like this.
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  Speaker 2: People who have been around Parliament almost as long as
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  Speaker 2: I have are saying the same thing. This is a
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  Speaker 2: diabolical situation.
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  Speaker 1: You can read Dennis's full scathing assessment right now at
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  Speaker 1: the Australian dot com dot au. An ultra charismatic, self
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  Speaker 1: proclaimed social democrat has just been elected Mayor of New
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  Speaker 1: York and made himself a seriously formidable enemy in Donald J. Trump.
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  Speaker 1: The ultimate New Yorker Zoran Mamdani is just thirty four
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  Speaker 1: and he's been elected on a sweeping set of promises
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  Speaker 1: to control rent, make childcarefree, and overhaul public transport. Is
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  Speaker 1: he the future of the Democrats or a false dawn?
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  Speaker 1: That's today's episode.
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  Speaker 2: It is an historic rate here at Zoro Mamdani Head Corridors.
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  Speaker 2: New York City has just elected its first Muslim, first
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  Speaker 2: Indian American mayor.
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  Speaker 3: Came from near obscurity sword to the top of the
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  Speaker 3: list in the primary. We have seen a record turn
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  Speaker 3: out in this election here in New York.
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  Speaker 2: There you have it.
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  Speaker 1: The news has reached the crowd. Soar own.
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  Speaker 3: Mom Danny has been named the mayor eleact.
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  Speaker 1: Karen Stewart is the Australian's chief international correspondent. He's also
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  Speaker 1: an honorary New Yorker, having spent many years living in
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  Speaker 1: the Big Apple Camp. New Yorkers have elected a new
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  Speaker 1: mayor who's causing a lot of concern and a lot
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  Speaker 1: of celebration, depending on your perspective. What's your take on
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  Speaker 1: who zorain Mum Danny is.
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  Speaker 2: He's an extraordinary character, Claire. He has emerged from pretty
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  Speaker 2: much nowhere. He's only been in the New York State
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  Speaker 2: Parliament for about two years. He hasn't got any real
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  Speaker 2: management experience at all. He's a Muslim, He's thirty four
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  Speaker 2: years old and extremely young for a mayor. He has
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  Speaker 2: got a few controversies that swirl around him. For example,
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  Speaker 2: he's described Israel as a genocidal state in its war
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  Speaker 2: in Gaza, which is pretty remarkable given that New York
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  Speaker 2: City has the largest Jewish population of any American city.
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  Speaker 2: He's really come from nowhere to storm and take the
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  Speaker 2: job as mayor of New York City, which is a
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  Speaker 2: huge job in America. It's the biggest, most unwieldy, unmanageable
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  Speaker 2: city you could ever imagine. And here's this guy at
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  Speaker 2: thirty four years about you suddenly find yourself on the throne.
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  Speaker 2: And it's a huge moment for a couple of reasons.
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  Speaker 2: Because he basically is very left wing. He calls himself
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  Speaker 2: a democratic socialist. That's very unusual for anyone in the
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  Speaker 2: American politics to happily call themselves a democratic socialist. He's
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  Speaker 2: got a very left wing agenda. His whole concept when
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  Speaker 2: he signed himself to the voters of New York City
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  Speaker 2: was to try and cut the cost of living in
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  Speaker 2: New York and to appeal to immigrants, taxi dri uber
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  Speaker 2: delivery people, et cetera, et cetera, that whole sort of,
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  Speaker 2: if you like, underclass of New York City who he
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  Speaker 2: felt were not getting a fair go, and so he
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  Speaker 2: tailored all these policies very much towards them. We had
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  Speaker 2: free buses, We've got rental freezers, two hundred thousand new
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  Speaker 2: units being set up. We've got a whole raft of
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  Speaker 2: things that he has done very much for the working man.
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  Speaker 2: And he's going to pay for that by taxing corporates
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  Speaker 2: more highly and also people who earn over a million dollars,
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  Speaker 2: so increased actuation, higher spending, all aimed at the working man.
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  Speaker 2: And this really resonated in New York City.
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  Speaker 1: It's not just those people who have voted for him.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, you can't get fifty percent of the vote
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  Speaker 1: with just the workers. Many of the New Yorkers who
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  Speaker 1: would have voted for mum Danni are people who someone
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  Speaker 1: like Donald Trump, although he's also from New York City,
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  Speaker 1: would describe as elites. You know, they are wealthy, highly
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  Speaker 1: educated people who live in this city that often doesn't
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  Speaker 1: really feel like part of the rest of America. What
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  Speaker 1: do you think is appealing about mum Dani to those
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  Speaker 1: voters who might themselves be very well off.
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  Speaker 2: That's a good question. I mean, New York City has
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  Speaker 2: really been hit hard by the inflation rises of recent years.
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  Speaker 2: He is an expensive place to live. There's a lot
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  Speaker 2: of problems in New York City at the moment. There's
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  Speaker 2: a fair bit of crime. Perhaps they see a more
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  Speaker 2: radical approach to this as the way to go. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: there really wasn't many other alternatives for the voters. The
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  Speaker 2: main opponent for Mamdami was Andrew Cuimo. He of course
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  Speaker 2: used to be the governor of New York State until
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  Speaker 2: four years ago he had to resign in disgrace over
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  Speaker 2: sexual harassment allegations. He then went up against Mamdani in
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  Speaker 2: the Democratic primary, lost it comprehensively, and then ran as
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  Speaker 2: a third party candidate. Now look, you know, he's sixty
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  Speaker 2: seven years old, and I think that has just looked
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  Speaker 2: and they just thought, we're just sick of the same
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  Speaker 2: tied old Democrat stuff. He's this new, fresh faced guy.
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  Speaker 2: Let's give him a go. And the thing about Ma'm
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  Speaker 2: Danny Claire is he's got a very almost like a
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  Speaker 2: Baraco Obama ability to campaign.
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  Speaker 3: What's going on, everybody, It'saura Mamdani. It's next playoff season
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  Speaker 3: out here. Let's see what New Yorkers are thinking. Right,
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  Speaker 3: not right, we're outside because New York has deserve a
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  Speaker 3: man that they can see, they can hear, they can
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  Speaker 3: even yell at.
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  Speaker 2: His folks see, he's articulate, his media friendly, He's got
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  Speaker 2: a very savvy social media campaign.
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  Speaker 3: I'm about to say something to you you've never heard
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  Speaker 3: of politician, say please stop sending us money.
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  Speaker 2: And you know this army of young voters just flocked
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  Speaker 2: to him.
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  Speaker 3: I've call him my African people.
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  Speaker 4: First, thank you, my mother, because I know with you
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  Speaker 4: the actually wait, thank you.
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  Speaker 2: He's real superpower is the ability to attract young voters
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  Speaker 2: to his cause.
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  Speaker 1: The appeal of Mamdani probably depends on how old you are.
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  Speaker 1: You know a lot of as you say, young New
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  Speaker 1: Yorkers really like him, whereas perhaps their parents might not.
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  Speaker 1: And that's also the same in Jewish families. Cam surveys
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  Speaker 1: have shown that young Jewish voters are much more likely
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  Speaker 1: to be open to Mandani than their parents are. He's
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  Speaker 1: made some pretty staunch statements about Israel. He's been a
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  Speaker 1: long campaigner against Israel. He at University, led a Palestinian
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  Speaker 1: support group and has long supported the boycott, divestment, sanctions
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  Speaker 1: movement against Israel. He's said that Benjamin Etna who should
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  Speaker 1: be arrested. How do you think Jewish New Yorkers grapple
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  Speaker 1: with this question of whether or not he is anti Semitic.
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  Speaker 2: I think the Jewish community in New York is quite divided.
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  Speaker 2: On the one hand, we have younger, more liberal Jewish
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  Speaker 2: voters who, according to Poles, have been quite supportive of Mandani.
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  Speaker 2: They are also unhappy with the actions of the Israeli
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  Speaker 2: government and they don't see that as a reason not
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  Speaker 2: to vote for him. However, older and more traditional Jewish voters,
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  Speaker 2: I think a lot of them appear to be horrified
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  Speaker 2: by the notion of having a mayor who effectively doesn't
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  Speaker 2: agree with the existence of the state of Israel. And
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  Speaker 2: this has played out in the broader politics. Claire of
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  Speaker 2: the Democratic Party, I mean, you have the left wing
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  Speaker 2: fire Browns if you like, like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and
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  Speaker 2: Bernie Sanders saying Mandami is the best thing that's ever
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  Speaker 2: happened to the Democratic Party. Then you have the more
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  Speaker 2: traditional and more conservative Democrats who are wary of him.
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  Speaker 2: They worry that he might if he succeeds. He's already
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  Speaker 2: succeeded in getting elected, but if he succeeds, especially in
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  Speaker 2: his mandate, that he will drag the Democratic Party further
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  Speaker 2: to the left. And you have some of the party eldest,
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  Speaker 2: most particularly the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is
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  Speaker 2: a Jewish New Yorker, and he's refused to endorse Man
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  Speaker 2: Dami throughout the entire campaign, which is really quite extraordinary,
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  Speaker 2: and it does show there is reluctance and reticence to
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  Speaker 2: back him strongly from the more conservative traditional Democrats.
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  Speaker 1: Promising a rent freeze was the way he really grabbed
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  Speaker 1: international attention, because, of course, everybody's watched TV shows about
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  Speaker 1: New York and what their apartments are like. Why is
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  Speaker 1: day to day life in New York so hard and
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  Speaker 1: so expensive? Why can't they grapple with the basic issues
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  Speaker 1: of for example, sanitation. They've been fighting about how to
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  Speaker 1: get rid of New York's rats for so centuries.
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  Speaker 2: Now, look, New York is neca system to itself. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: it is so crowded that just naturally, apartment prices are stratispheric,
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  Speaker 2: and you know what happens is you see the poorer
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  Speaker 2: people get more marginalized. I mean, Harlem used to be
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  Speaker 2: a very poor place. Now it's quite upmarket. The gentrification
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  Speaker 2: is moving out because the demand is so much in
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  Speaker 2: the city of Manhattan. But regularly you get governments that
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  Speaker 2: just cannot cope with this incredible mass of people and
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  Speaker 2: the services required. I mean, how often have we seen
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  Speaker 2: huge garbage strikes in New York. It's a very unionized
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  Speaker 2: Democrat place as well, so you know when there are strikes,
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  Speaker 2: they're very effective because they've got very strong unions and
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  Speaker 2: it's a very tough place to manage. And I mean
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  Speaker 2: that really goes in waves, and ma'am Daney has basically
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  Speaker 2: tapped into a wave that people believe he can actually
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  Speaker 2: improve the city from where it is now. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's the story he's sold well to these voters, and
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  Speaker 2: so they've given their trust to him.
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  Speaker 1: Coming up Zoran versus Donald, ma'am Danney wouldn't be able
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  Speaker 1: to run for president of the United States because he
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  Speaker 1: was born overseas, So the Democrats still have the task
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  Speaker 1: of finding candidates for presidential elections, who people actually want
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  Speaker 1: to vote for. Do you think his election gives a
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  Speaker 1: hint as to which way the Democrats might lean? Are
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  Speaker 1: they going to lean hard left next time they're looking
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  Speaker 1: at a candidate for the presidency. Given the success of Mamdani, left.
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  Speaker 2: Wing Democrats will be hoping that his election is an
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  Speaker 2: example of where the party should go. The Democrats are
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  Speaker 2: really caught in the civil war right now between the
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  Speaker 2: left wingers who support obviously Mamdani, and the conservatives as
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  Speaker 2: to the direction of the party after Kamala Harris's defeat.
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  Speaker 2: It's a battle royal between them to see which way
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  Speaker 2: they go. So loo wingers will be hoping that this
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  Speaker 2: is a sign that they're going to go left. I
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  Speaker 2: think there'll be a lot of resistance to that. I
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  Speaker 2: think that the lesser to the last election is that
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  Speaker 2: the Democrats need a centrist in the mold of Bill
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  Speaker 2: Clinton who can bring back and win back Middle America.
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  Speaker 2: That's what they lost last time, and I think the
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  Speaker 2: conservative wing of the Democrat Party is very fearful that
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  Speaker 2: ma'am dne the victory and the left wing of the
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  Speaker 2: Democrats could drag the party to a place which it's
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  Speaker 2: really not electable from because it's not really representing Middle America,
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  Speaker 2: and that's what they're concerned about. So, look, this could
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  Speaker 2: be a booby trap for the Democrats. Certainly Donald Trump
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  Speaker 2: thinks this could be a booby trap for the Democrats.
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  Speaker 1: Zorhan Mundami thirty four year old Democratic socialist. He's the prime.
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  Speaker 2: Minist, non socialist, communist are He's far worse than.
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  Speaker 4: A sus Some people have compared him to a left
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  Speaker 4: wing version of you, charismatic breaking the old rules. What
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  Speaker 4: do you think about that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think I'm a much better looking person than him. Right,
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  Speaker 2: he's already started a tack campaign and he said he's
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  Speaker 2: threatened to not give federal funding or at least withdraw
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  Speaker 2: a lot of federal funding to New York City as
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  Speaker 2: a result of his victory. He's said it's going to
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  Speaker 2: be a social and economic disaster. I mean, this is
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  Speaker 2: Trump in full flight. So it's going to be a
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  Speaker 2: spectacular battle between a young, new but hugely popular New
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  Speaker 2: York mayor and Donald Trump.
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  Speaker 4: So, Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, four words
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  Speaker 4: for you, turn the volume up.
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  Speaker 1: Cameron Stewart is the Australian's Chief International correspondent. You can
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: read Cam's reporting and analysis right now at the Australian
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: dot com dot au