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Some Democrats Panicked Over Mamdani. Obama Called Him.
In the days after it became clear Zohran Mamdani had won New York City’s June mayoral primary, much of the Democratic establishment began to panic. Former President Barack Obama, the last Democrat to captivate the party’s base, got on the phone. In a lengthy call in June, Mr. Obama congratulated Mr. Mamdani, offered him advice about governing and discussed the importance of giving people hope in a dark time, according to people with knowledge of the conversation.
Others in Mr. Obama’s orbit have also shown a keen interest in Mr. Mamdani and his campaign. Jon Favreau, who served as Mr. Obama’s speechwriter, and Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser, have been in communication with the Democratic strategist Morris Katz, among Mr. Mamdani’s closest aides. David Axelrod, who served as Mr. Obama’s chief campaign strategist and senior adviser, was also curious. Last month, he stopped by Mr. Mamdani’s campaign headquarters, then in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan, to meet the candidate and his staff, and see things for himself…The interest from the closely guarded world of Mr. Obama and those around him is the clearest sign yet that Mr. Mamdani is likely to be embraced by the Democratic mainstream, whether the party’s leaders and donors like it or not. It comes at a time of dueling visions among voters, Democratic politicians and donors over the future of the party.
“What I found when I went over to that office was a familiar spirit that I hadn’t seen in a while of just determined, upbeat idealism,” Mr. Axelrod told me. “You may not agree with every answer he’s giving, or every idea he has, but he’s certainly asking the right questions, which is how do we make the country work for working people?” He said Mr. Mamdani’s ability to inspire young Americans, who feel economic uncertainty acutely, was critical and something the party at large needed to reckon with.
…Though it has been nearly two decades since Mr. Obama’s 2008 victory, the parallels between the two charismatic Democrats are unmistakable. Both are political outsiders with unconventional biographies. Mr. Obama was the country’s first Black president. Mr. Mamdani, if elected in November, would be the first Muslim to govern New York City. Both built campaigns around grass-roots organizing and formed diverse multiracial coalitions that galvanized younger Americans and attracted voters far beyond the party’s traditional base. Mr. Axelrod said he found the reaction of much of New York’s political establishment dispiriting and outdated. “‘Scare the hell out of people and maybe we can get them to vote for our deficient politics,’” he said, describing the approach with brutal efficiency. “That’s not a politics I want to be associated with. That’s not a politics I think prevails.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/opinion/mamdani-obama-democrats.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eE8.ebWs.Le22jcuXvvo_&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Others in Mr. Obama’s orbit have also shown a keen interest in Mr. Mamdani and his campaign. Jon Favreau, who served as Mr. Obama’s speechwriter, and Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser, have been in communication with the Democratic strategist Morris Katz, among Mr. Mamdani’s closest aides. David Axelrod, who served as Mr. Obama’s chief campaign strategist and senior adviser, was also curious. Last month, he stopped by Mr. Mamdani’s campaign headquarters, then in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan, to meet the candidate and his staff, and see things for himself…The interest from the closely guarded world of Mr. Obama and those around him is the clearest sign yet that Mr. Mamdani is likely to be embraced by the Democratic mainstream, whether the party’s leaders and donors like it or not. It comes at a time of dueling visions among voters, Democratic politicians and donors over the future of the party.
“What I found when I went over to that office was a familiar spirit that I hadn’t seen in a while of just determined, upbeat idealism,” Mr. Axelrod told me. “You may not agree with every answer he’s giving, or every idea he has, but he’s certainly asking the right questions, which is how do we make the country work for working people?” He said Mr. Mamdani’s ability to inspire young Americans, who feel economic uncertainty acutely, was critical and something the party at large needed to reckon with.
…Though it has been nearly two decades since Mr. Obama’s 2008 victory, the parallels between the two charismatic Democrats are unmistakable. Both are political outsiders with unconventional biographies. Mr. Obama was the country’s first Black president. Mr. Mamdani, if elected in November, would be the first Muslim to govern New York City. Both built campaigns around grass-roots organizing and formed diverse multiracial coalitions that galvanized younger Americans and attracted voters far beyond the party’s traditional base. Mr. Axelrod said he found the reaction of much of New York’s political establishment dispiriting and outdated. “‘Scare the hell out of people and maybe we can get them to vote for our deficient politics,’” he said, describing the approach with brutal efficiency. “That’s not a politics I want to be associated with. That’s not a politics I think prevails.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/opinion/mamdani-obama-democrats.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eE8.ebWs.Le22jcuXvvo_&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
21 replies
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Way to make me feel even older.
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