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Zoran Mamdani, the leading mayoral candidate in New York City, is a self-proclaimed socialist and is frowning again as the recent resurfaced video appears to suggest that prisons are not important.
Mamdani, a New York State Sen. and Democratic candidate for mayor, made comments in a 2020 interview while running for the state office.
Asked if he thought prisons were outdated, Mamdani said, “Frankly – I mean, what purpose do they serve? I think we have to ask ourselves.”
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Democratic mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani appeared to dismiss the need for prisons in a resurfaced interview. (Yuki Iwamura-Pool/Getty Images and Istock)
The Democratic mayoral candidate said, “I think a lot of people defending physical states will defend their ideas and the way it makes them feel. They don’t defend that reality and the practices that are part of it.
“When you actually break it down and ask people how many people come out of the prison system in the prison system and ask how much harm is actually being blocked, I don’t think people have a clear answer when they ask these kinds of questions.”
When discussing the prison system, Mamdani says, “They always want to pivot, “What are you going to do about the murderer? What are you going to do about the rapist?”
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New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani will be attending the 2025 New York City Pride on June 29, 2025 in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
“Sometimes you have to ask them, ‘What are you doing about them now?” he added. “We don’t have it now, so we need a system of justice that takes it seriously and repairs the harm that takes it seriously.
Mamdani also criticized Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic government of New York at the time, claiming that “the power of executives is almost infinite here in New York,” and for refusing to “drove people out and let people go home.”
Having pledged to overhaul New York City and launch a massive new government program, Mamdani has been approved by progressive politicians like I-VT Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
New York leaders reportedly hesitate to support Zoran Mamdani for the mayor
New York City candidates Zohran Mamdani, Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. (Getty Images)
As a heavy blue candidate for New York City, Mamdani could likely release Eric Adams, who is running to re-election New York City mayor Eric Adams. Mamdani also faces independent Khaomo and activist Curtis Swawa, a Republican candidate.
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Mamdani is considered a controversial candidate by many. This is seen in part due to his proposals for socialist policy and his intense criticism of the Israeli state. He refused to say whether Israel had the right to exist as a Jewish state, and initially refused to condemn the phrase “globalization of the intifada.” However, he recently began to distance himself from the phrase.
Fox News Digital contacted the Mamdani campaign but did not receive a response.
Peter Pinedo is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
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