Obama calls Mamdani, praises his campaign, offers to serve as ‘sounding board’ if he wins NYC mayoral race

Former president Barack Obama yesterday called Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race, to praise his campaign and to offer to serve as a “sounding board” for Mamdani if he wins, The New York Times reports.

“Your campaign has been impressive to watch,” Obama is said to have told Mamdai in the 30-minute conversation.

Mamdani told Obama that “he had drawn inspiration for his own recent speech on Islamophobia from Obama’s speech on race during his first presidential run,” the Times reports.

The two also tentatively discussed meeting face-to-face in Washington, the Times reports.

The Times notes that Obama has not formally endorsed Mamdani, “in keeping with his general practice of avoiding any intervention in municipal races since he left office,” but says the call marks “an important signal” of support while other Democratic Party leaders have “kept a palpable distance” from Mamdani.

Mamdani is a longtime anti-Israel activist who has said the Palestinian cause is central to his identity. His anti-Israel rhetoric has alarmed many Jews, sparking a series of warnings from Jewish leaders who say that his vilification of Israel could spur hatred against Jews. Jews in New York City are targeted in hate crimes far more than any other group.

Mamdani is polling ahead of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, a pro-Israel centrist and his leading rival in the race, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. The election is on November 4.

Obama also called Mamdani after he won the mayoral primary in June.