New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is being seen as the frontrunner in the polls after a stunning victory last week, has doubled down on his plans to tax “richer and whiter neighborhoods,” while also stating that no-one should have billions of dollars, reported NBC News.
Mamdani, who is touted “the Fidel Castro of New York” by his critics, said his proposal to jack up the property tax on the rich and white neighborhoods was “not driven by race” despite his campaign specifically targeting white homeowners. In an interview with NBC News, Mamdani argued that New York City’s property tax system is unfair and also stated that there should be any billionaires.
🚨BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani DOUBLES DOWN on taxing white neighborhoods.
“I’m just stating how things are.” pic.twitter.com/7GKiFp0m8R
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) June 29, 2025
“That is just a description of what we see right now. It’s not driven by race. It’s more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being under-taxed versus over-taxed,” Mamdani told NBC News’ “Meet the Press”.
The 33-year-old mayoral candidate defended his democratic socialism, and rejected the allegations leveled by US President Donald Trump of being a communist. Trump, in a social media post, had written “Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor.”
If Mamdani gets elected in the NYC Mayor polls in November, then he would become the first Muslim and Indian American to lead America’s largest city.
During his campaign, Mamdani talked about affordability, promising free buses, universal childcare, a $30 minimum hourly wage, a rent freeze and city-run supermarkets and added that funds for all these welfare would come from the taxes on the top 1% of earners.
Mamdani was asked about the billionaires and whether they have a right to exist, to which he said “I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality.”