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Democratic socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani are joining forces on Saturday to fight oligarchy in the nation’s financial capital.
“It is an honor to welcome Senator Sanders to New York City as we fight against the corporate greed, billionaires, and corrupt politicians responsible for the affordability crisis,” Mamdani said in a statement ahead of the “Fighting Oligarchy” event in Brooklyn.
Mamdani’s June primary win shocked not only the political establishment, but the real estate and business leaders who drive New York City’s economy. With affordability central to Sanders’ and Mamdani’s platforms, both have railed against America’s wealth inequality.
“While oligarchs and Donald Trump try to place their thumb on the scale of this election, we’re laser-focused on the New Yorkers who built this city, call it home, and deserve a leader who will deliver dignity for all,” Mamdani said, referencing The New York Times reports alleging President Donald Trump has conspired against Mamdani’s campaign.
Trump has dubbed Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic.”Can
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The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry regarding the report that Trump discussed offering incumbent Mayor Eric Adams a position in the Trump administration so he would drop out of the race and hurt Mamdani’s election odds. Meanwhile, Trump and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo denied discussing how to defeat Mamdani this November.
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Ahead of the town hall in Brooklyn, the two progressive leaders plan to march alongside union members in Manhattan’s Labor Day parade on Saturday morning.
After headlining the New Hampshire AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day breakfast on Monday, Sanders told Fox News Digital that Trump is “leading us toward authoritarianism, toward more income and wealth inequality and making the planet even more dangerous.”
“No, billionaires should not be able to get away with not paying their fair share of taxes while working people are being, in many cases, overtaxed,” Sanders said, urging Americans to unite against Trump and deliver for more than just the top 1%.
Sanders and Mamdani met in July when the mayoral hopeful visited the nation’s capital for a digital campaign skill-sharing breakfast hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Mamdani called Sanders “Brooklyn through and through” and said it was an honor to meet “one of my heroes,” while Sanders said he is “deeply impressed by the grassroots campaign he is running.”
Sanders was an early endorser of Mamdani’s primary campaign, alongside Ocasio-Cortez. The duo sparked sizeable buzz on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour earlier this year, firing up thousands of Democrats at rallies across the United States who have been left without a clear party leader since devastating losses up and down the ballot in 2024.
While Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour seemed for a time a glimmer of hope for a fractured party, Mamdani’s surprising primary win this summer seems to have reignited that Democratic base in a new, albeit more progressive, direction.
Mamdani’s campaign platform promises progressive ideas like rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, free buses and raising the minimum wage – all of which he plans to pay for by raising taxes on corporations and the 1%. Many of those ideas are in line with the Democratic socialist agenda that Sanders has been pushing for years.
“At a time of massive and growing income and wealth inequality, we are building a strong grassroots movement to take on the billionaire class and corporate greed,” Sanders said in a statement ahead of the Brooklyn town hall.
Sanders said the “oligarchs” – or wealthy business leaders with political influence – will “undermine democracy” and won’t hesitate to “buy elections.”
“But candidates who stand boldly with the working class can — and will — beat them. When we stand together we can defeat authoritarianism and create an economy that works for all our people, not just the privileged few,” the Vermont senator and former presidential candidate said.
Sanders’ campaign has touted turning out more than 300,000 people across 34 rallies in 20 states since kicking off his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour this year.
Fox News Digital reached out to Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, Cuomo and Adams for comment regarding Mamdani’s event with Sanders but did not immediately receive responses.
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stacy contributed to this report.
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