Copyright The Boston Globe
Former President Barack Obama called New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Saturday, praising his campaign and offering to be a “sounding board” into the future. The private, roughly 30-minute phone call, which has not previously been reported, was described by two people who participated or were briefed immediately on what had been said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation. Obama said that he was invested in Mamdani’s success beyond the election Tuesday. They talked about the challenges of staffing a new administration and building an apparatus capable of delivering on Mamdani’s agenda of affordability in the city, the people said. The former president’s outreach on the eve of what has been a contentious election is notable, given how divided the Democratic establishment has been over Mamdani and the role that Obama still plays in the party. Advertisement Obama spoke admiringly about how Mamdani has run his campaign, making light of his own past political missteps and noting how few Mamdani had made under such a bright spotlight. “Your campaign has been impressive to watch,” Obama told Mamdani, according to the people. Obama has not formally endorsed Mamdani, in keeping with his general practice of avoiding any intervention in municipal races since he left office. But the call — the second between the two men since the Democratic primary — represents an important signal of Obama’s support as other leaders in the Democratic Party have kept a palpable distance from Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist. Obama offered to be a “sounding board” if Mamdani wins the election, and the two discussed preliminary plans to meet in person at some point in Washington, though no meeting date has been set. Advertisement A spokesperson for Obama declined to comment. Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said in a statement, “Zohran Mamdani appreciated President Obama’s words of support and their conversation on the importance of bringing a new kind of politics to our city.” Republicans have promised to make Mamdani one of the faces of the Democratic Party. The House Republicans’ campaign arm issued a memo this past week, vowing to make him “synonymous with the Democratic Party nationwide.” “This isn’t about one race in New York,” the memo said. “It’s a national story of a party bending the knee to socialism and the far left.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
