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US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant on Tuesday (Nov 25) called New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a “leader of the Democratic Party”, praising his campaign and noting the importance of his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump.
Praises Mamdani’s campaign
Speaking to CNBC, Besant said: “I was in the room, and I think you have to have some admiration for a candidate who ran the campaign his way. It was a great, great campaign.”
He emphasized Mamdani’s growing influence in the Democratic Party: “He is now clearly the leader of the Democratic Party. And I think it shows how open-minded the president is, that he invited him to the Oval.”
Mixed support from New York Democrats
Besant said that some prominent Democrats did not support Mamdani. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not endorse him, although House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Gov. Kathy Hochul did.
“Senator Schumer never endorsed him. I don’t even know if he met him,” Besant said.
Trump congratulated Mamdani
President Trump also praised Mamdani, highlighting shared priorities for New York: “We have one thing in common. We want this city of ours to do great. And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He ran an incredible race against a lot of really smart people… and he beat him handily.”
Trump noted areas of mutual concern, including housing and food prices, saying: “We talked very similarly about some things, like housing and building housing and food and prices.”
challenges ahead
Besant stressed that governance presented practical challenges beyond running a campaign, highlighting issues such as security, sanitation and public transport: “It’s easy to run a campaign, but keeping people safe, picking up garbage, running the subways on time, we will see.”
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