Sanders and Mamdani energize supporters at town hall as NYC mayor’s race enters final stretch

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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani rallied supporters at a town hall in Brooklyn on Saturday, slamming President Donald Trump and boosting their shared progressive message as Mamdani works to energize his base in the final weeks of the New York City mayor’s race.

The crowd was friendly, and the reception was almost entirely warm.

The idea of health care as a human right? Cheers. The mere mention of Trump? Heavy boos. The notion of an oligarchy? Even more boos. At one point, the crowd chanted the campaign slogans that helped Mamdani win the Democratic nomination in the race.

“We will freeze the?” Mamdani asked. The booming response: “Rent!”

“Make buses fast and?,” he continued.

“Free!,” the audience yelled.

The town hall — part of Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, which has drawn massive crowds in red and blue states alike — packed an auditorium in Brooklyn as Mamdani’s campaign barrels toward the November election.

He is facing off against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who are both running as independents, along with Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group.

Sanders, an independent who represents Vermont, dubbed Mamdani “the future of the Democratic Party,” while criticizing the state’s top Democratic leaders for not endorsing him.

“I find it hard to understand how the major Democratic leaders in New York state are not supporting the Democratic candidate,” Sanders said.

The event, which felt more rah-rah lovefest than the usual caustic questioning of most political town halls, came near the end of a chaotic week in the race.

Adams has spent the last few days fending off reports that Trump intermediaries have been assessing his willingness to drop out of the contest to take a job with the federal government.

At the same time, Trump has told reporters he doesn’t want Mamdani, a democratic socialist, to be the city’s next mayor but believes he will win unless two of the three other major candidates exit the race. Trump has also said he thinks Cuomo might be able to win in a one-on-one race, adding, “If you have more than one candidate running against (Mamdani), it can’t be won.”

Edward Donlon, a 75-year-old Mamdani supporter who trekked from Staten Island to Brooklyn on a rainy day for the town hall, said it would be “outrageous” for the president to get involved in the race.

“I want to have an honest politician,” said Donlon, a retired attorney. “I’d like to have someone who you can believe what they’re saying.”

Through the town hall, Mamdani and Sanders, an independent who represents Vermont, fielded mostly friendly questions, though there was one raucous moment where a man was removed by security.

Just a few minutes into Mamdani’s opening remarks, a man with a shirt that read Cuba and had a Cuban flag approached the stage and began to yell, saying you are a Communist.

“You know that something has changed when it’s not enough to call us democratic socialists anymore,” Mamdani said as the man was removed by security.