Zohran Mamdani on the Promise of America
In a speech marking the country’s 250th anniversary, socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani lays out his vision of a United States of America for the many, not the few.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani talks with Fatima Elazari, a recently naturalized US citizen, after delivering a speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States of America at New York City Hall on July 3, 2026. (Anna Connors / Pool / Getty Images)
Season after season, year after year, the tides have come in and out of New York Harbor. Long before the name “New York” had ever been spoken, Lenape dugouts crossed these currents. It was on these waters that tall masts crested the horizon, captained by explorers like [Giovanni da] Verrazzano and [Henry] Hudson, after whom we’ve named our bridges and rivers. And ever since, ships full of travelers weary from long journeys have passed through the Narrows, the winds of the Atlantic at their backs.
When those passengers lifted their heads to glimpse what lies just beyond the waves, what did they see? They saw land, lush and teeming with life. They saw men waiting at the docks to take them into bondage. They saw tenements rife with squalor. They saw industry rumbling with activity, steam and smoke rising, a city on the move. They saw a towering monument to freedom, her torch glowing worldwide welcome.
They saw New York City. They saw America.
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