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Mamdani wants ICE abolished and sees a progressive path to the White House in 2028
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told CNN he has made his case for abolishing ICE directly to President Trump, and said voters turned out despite Elon Musk spending "$440 million" on the midterms. Asked by NBC News whether a progressive has a path to the presidency in 2028, he replied: "Absolutely."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used a round of post-election television interviews to renew his call to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, dismiss Elon Musk's record midterm spending and predict that a progressive can find a path to the presidency in 2028. Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper and NBC News after Democrats swept Congress on Tuesday, he also defended his record with Jewish New Yorkers and turned Vice President JD Vance's verdict on the Iran war back on the administration.
'I've shared it with the president directly'
Asked about immigration enforcement in his city, Mamdani did not soften a position that some Democrats see as a political liability.
"I believe that ICE should be abolished. I believe that they should end their immigration enforcement activities in New York City," Mamdani told CNN. "And I've shared it with the president directly. I've also shared it with the public directly."
The mayor has kept an unusual line open to President Donald Trump since their cordial Oval Office meeting in November 2025. It was tested on Oct. 8, after an ICE agent shot a man in the Bronx. Mamdani said he spent about two hours on the phone with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin trying to secure the man's release. "Those negotiations were unsuccessful," he said, calling the agency "rotten to its core."
'It doesn't matter that Elon spent $440 million'
Mamdani cast the Democratic wave as a defeat for big money, singling out the world's richest man, a top Republican donor.
"American voters came forward to say that it doesn't matter that Elon spent $440 million in these elections," he told CNN. "American voters were still going to show up and vote for the future they want to see."
The mayor's figure could not be independently confirmed. According to The New York Times, Musk had given about $366 million this cycle by mid-October, including $276 million between July and September to Republican super PACs and groups. That made him the largest known donor of the midterms.
A progressive path to 2028
In his NBC News interview, Mamdani was asked whether there is a path for a progressive candidate in the 2028 presidential race. His answer: "Absolutely."
The one-word reply comes as Democrats digest a result that sent a new wave of progressives to Washington. Mamdani himself, a naturalized citizen born in Uganda, is not eligible to run for president. On the Republican side, Vance is already courting Trump voters disillusioned by the Iran war ahead of a possible 2028 bid, Fox News Digital reported.
'The most Jewish city in the United States'
Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor and a longtime critic of Israel's conduct in Gaza, also spoke about governing for residents who disagree with him on the Middle East.
"One of the things I'm so proud of is I represent the most Jewish city in the United States of America," he told CNN. "I know that there are some Jewish New Yorkers, for example, that may have a different set of opinions on Israel and Palestine as I do. And that doesn't mean that I work any less hard to deliver for them across the board."
In late September, his administration released what it called the first municipal strategy to combat antisemitism in the country, raising hate crime prevention funding by $26 million. Crimes targeting Jewish New Yorkers make up roughly half of all hate crimes in the city, Fox 5 New York reported.
'A war that they started'
On Iran, Mamdani took aim at Vance, who wrote on X on Wednesday that "the reason we lost is the war."
"I find it quite ironic to read a post from the vice president as if he's describing the actions of a different administration," Mamdani told NBC News. "He is not just some commentator online. And there has to be a reckoning of the fact that this is a war that they started. It's a war that they can end." If the administration believes the war contributed to its "political demise," he asked, "why don't they actually start to take some action to reflect that?"
He also argued that Washington has "continued to fund the violation of international law across so many parts of the world, especially when we're looking at Palestine and even when we're looking at Iran," adding: "That is something that needs to be confronted."
Videos: CNN and NBC News interviews via social media. Photos: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, The White House / Wikimedia Commons (archive)
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