New York socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—rumored to be eyeing a 2028 presidential run—attacked President Donald Trump when rallying for New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.
During a rally in New York City, AOC named Trump and suggested a Mamdani victory would have implications beyond just New York.
“The election of Zohran is as important as our cause today,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the rally. “Child care, buses, rent, and our rights, here in New York City — it is the jewel and the center of all that is possible in America.”
“And on Nov. 4,” she said, “we will prove it to the world, and we will prove it to the nation, and we will send a loud message to President Donald Trump that his authoritarianism is no good here.”
Ocasio-Cortez touched on the broader implications of the election and addressed Trump directly.
“This is America, New York City. Don’t let them tell you any different. Don’t let them tell you that we are the exception. We are the rule. We are the standard. We are the acceptance, and we set the bar for America,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I’m talking to you, Donald Trump.”
“That is what this election is about, and that is why Donald Trump is paying attention to this election. Ordinary people, working class people, Black and white and Latino, Asian, gay and straight, coming together to take on the oligarchy that is Trump’s worst nightmare,” she continued.
Mamdani and Trump have clashed at various points throughout the general election campaign.
Late last month, the president warned that Mamdani, if elected mayor, “is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great city.”
“Self proclaimed New York City Communist, Zohran Mamdani, who is running for Mayor, will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party,” Trump said on Truth Social last month.
“Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his fake communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
An exposé published Monday lays out in detail how Zohran Mamdani, who is currently leading in the race for the mayor of New York City, got his start and rose to become the face of the left-wing socialist movement in the U.S.
Fox News notes that Mamdani’s rise has come “even while campaigning with radical imams, some of whom have supported terrorists and terrorist financiers,” and has been greatly assisted with millions in donations from groups associated with leftist billionaire George Soros and radical anti-Semite Linda Sarsour.
A database of 110 groups supporting New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani reveals a closely connected network of organizations that identify as Muslim or socialist, working alongside 76 Democratic Party affiliates, allied groups, and labor unions, Fox noted.
Two networks—activist Linda Sarsour’s MPower organizations and a coalition known as Emgage—play central roles in this political alliance.
According to tax filings, MPower and Emgage have received nearly $2.5 million in recent years from billionaire George Soros’ Open Society philanthropies.
“We fund a range of civil society organizations that work to deepen civic engagement through peaceful democratic participation, counter discrimination including against Muslim Americans and advance human rights,” a spokesperson for Open Society Foundations told Fox News Digital.
“The grants that you cite all occurred years before the mayoral race, and we are a nonpartisan organization that does not fund political candidates and their campaigns,” the spokesperson added.
MPower and Emgage are part of a close-knit coalition of roughly 30 ethnic and religious organizations that includes CAIR Action — the political arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations — as well as the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Action Coalition, the Yemeni American Merchants Association, the Bangladeshi American Advocacy Group, and Desis Rising Up and Moving.
These groups have actively supported Mamdani’s campaign efforts through coordinated social media outreach, canvassing operations, and voter mobilization initiatives, Fox reported.
Collectively, the organizations have combined annual revenues of roughly $24 million and have supported Mamdani’s campaign through endorsements, fundraising, social media promotion, and voter outreach.