WASHINGTON — A presidential run for Mamdani? He says that is not in the cards.
Mayor Mamdani brushed aside the notion of amending the U.S. Constitution to make him eligible for the White House once his time leading New York City is over, laughing off the suggestion in a Sunday interview.
“No,” Mamdani said on ABC News’ “This Week” when asked about the idea. “I think the Constitution looks good the way it is.”
Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution limits the presidency to natural-born U.S. citizens who are at least 35 years old.
Mamdani, 34, was born in Uganda and moved to the United States at around age seven. He became a naturalized American citizen in 2018.
“I’m very excited to focus on New York City, but thank you for reminding me of my upcoming mortality,” Mamdani joked, after ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl noted that his 35th birthday is approaching.
During the 2025 mayoral race, Mamdani frequently took aim at former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, accusing him of using the campaign as a stepping stone toward higher office.
Even as he dismissed any presidential ambitions of his own, Mamdani signaled confidence in his growing influence within the Democratic Party.
“Let them,” Mamdani snapped back when asked about Republicans trying to make him the poster child for Dems.
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“We don’t have to ask ourselves what life looks like if a socialist wins. I won last November, and over the course of these last 6 months, what we’ve delivered.”
Follow live updates on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist agenda and the latest in NYC politics
Last week, Mamdani scored a victory over Democratic leadership when three candidates he endorsed in competitive primary races — Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier — won.
Those three have championed a far-left agenda, with Avila Chevalier, in particular, having a history of bragging about wiping her dirty hands on the American flag, calling to abolish prisons and the border, blasting former President Joe Biden as a rapist, and more.
“I think we are seeing a hunger that is not just felt by New Yorkers, but frankly by Americans from coast to coast, for a new kind of politics, one that puts working people at the heart of it,” Mamdani said of those victories.
When pressed on Avila Chevalier’s wild positions, Mamdani contended that she had a focus on the “politics of life.”
“The focus of her candidacy was about the struggle that working people are facing,” he insisted, when pressed about her call to abandon prisons and borders.
Asked whether he wants prisons abolished, Mamdani replied, “There are prisons.”
“Safety is not something that’s up for debate.”
