Mamdani: Democratic socialism "can flourish anywhere"

CBS Mornings Mamdani believes democratic socialism "can flourish anywhere," says he and Trump share love of New York City .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-cbs-mornings.jpg'); } By Kaia Hubbard Kaia Hubbard Politics Reporter Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Kaia Hubbard Updated on: April 16, 2026 / 9:05 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday as he reflected on his first 100 days in office that he believes democratic socialism "can flourish anywhere.""I think that this is a politics that can flourish anywhere because, frankly, there is only one majority in this country — that's the working class. And it's time we have politics that puts them at the heart of what it is that we're pursuing, and not as part of the appendix," Mamdani said in an interview on "CBS Mornings."He said that before he became mayor of New York City, he "was told that you could only be a democratic socialist in northwest Queens." "Then I became the mayor, now the next question is the state, then it'll be, the next question will be the country," he said.The mayor was sworn in on Jan. 1 and quickly moved to deliver some of his key campaign promises to New Yorkers, including expanding free child care programs, creating an Office of Community Safety and announcing the site of New York City's first city-run grocery store. But some of his most highly touted pledges, including a rent freeze and making city buses free, remain stalled.Mamdani said he's proud of the work his team accomplished over the first 100 days. "We're seeing the kind of progress we were told was impossible," he said.  Mamdani pointed to the work to fill vacancies on the board that has a say in rent-stabilized housing, and a decision is forthcoming this summer. On buses, he said, "we're already speeding up buses for more than a million New Yorkers, putti...