Zohran Mamdani on Welcoming Bernie Sanders for a "Bread and Roses" Inaugural Celebration

DECEMBER 31, 2025

Zohran Mamdani paused for a moment, after I asked what he thought his inauguration—on January 1, as the 34-year-old, immigrant, Muslim, democratic socialist mayor of the nation’s largest city—might tell us about what is possible in American politics.

“That it lives,” he finally said. “That the days of us constructing an ever-lowering ceiling of possibility must come to an end. That we have to finally usher in an era where the ambition of our vision matches the scale of the crisis in front of us.”

“I would not be here, were it not for Bernie Sanders,” explained Mamdani. “He gave me the language with which to describe my own politics, a decade ago. It was his presidential campaign in 2016 that showed me and so many Americans across this country that we were not alone in in our belief in dignity as a necessity for each and every person who calls this country their home. And it’s frankly an honor for me that I will be on that stage with him as I begin this next chapter.”

Mamdani has long made it clear that the primary focus of his mayoralty will be the practical work of carrying out an ambitious agenda that makes the city more affordable and improves the lives of working-class New Yorkers. At the same time, he believes that his mayoralty can demonstrate how a democratic socialist vision could frame alternative policies for urban America. “I think it’s a beautiful part of our city, showing what politics can be in a time when it has become almost entirely associated with the language of darkness,” said Mamdani, who suggests that New York “could in fact be a showcase of light.”

“To be a democratic socialist leading our city,” he explained, “is an opportunity to lead with a vision that ensures that each and every New Yorker has whatever they need to live a dignified life—and to translate that belief into the day-to-day material realities of those who call the city home.”

“Life can never only be one thing,” said Mamdani. “It cannot simply be struggle; it cannot simply be laboring in the hopes of bread. You must also labor in the hopes of roses. January 1st is an opportunity for us to celebrate the immense amount of work it took from so many to usher in a new era in our city, and to also be honest about the challenges ahead of us. These are challenges that will be difficult, challenges that will require even more than what we have given thus far, and yet challenges that can still be approached with a joy of purpose—of delivering for the city that we all love and call home.”

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/zohran-mamdani-inauguration-bernie-interview/