In Lieu of Interview, Erin Burnett Gives Zohran Mamdani a Warm Cocoon

Jorge Bonilla
September 30th, 2025 12:44 AM

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With New York Mayor Eric Adams bowing out of the 2025 mayoral race, CNN’s Erin Burnett saw fit to interview the frontrunner: State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. What ensued was not so much an interview as it was the construction of a warm cocoon from which Mamdani could emerge if it was safe enough.

The interview opens with a reaction to the news of Adams dropping out, with Burnett going so far as to speculate that there may have been some sort of quid pro quo between President Donald Trump and Adams. From there, Burnett moves towards a retribution question, specifically Trump’s threats to withhold funding to the city if they elect Mamdani.

Each of these is a softball very carefully crafted so as to elicit a crafted response from Mamdani, with infinitesimal pushback or followup from Burnett. Consider this exchange on whether Mamdani would order the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

ERIN BURNETT: So Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting The White House, as we are talking today, he addressed the UN general assembly here just a few days ago in New York. Now, the International Criminal Court has a warrant out for his arrest. They say that he- they accuse him of crimes against humanity. You have called, as I mentioned, Netanyahu's actions in Gaza genocide. It's going to become not just a rhetorical, but a question rooted in reality if you are mayor. As mayor of New York, you will oversee the next UN general assembly, right? If you're mayor, will you abide by the international criminal court? Will you have prime minister Netanyahu arrested if he's here?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Look, I've said time and time again that this is a city that believes in international law. This is a city whose values are ones that deserve to actually be reflected in our commitments. And I think that our city should uphold the warrants the International Criminal Court issues, whether it be for Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin. And also, I am not Donald Trump. I will follow the laws as they are, as opposed to bend them to my own will. So we will pursue every legal avenue to ensure that accountability is present. And the reason for that is that the context we are speaking about, you know, this is a man who has orchestrated a genocide that has killed one Palestinian child every hour for close to two years. This is someone whose conduct I hear about from New Yorkers across the five boroughs, and they come to me with a horror at what they have witnessed. And for some New Yorkers, a horror as to what they have lost. There was a Palestinian New Yorker who spoke to me about losing 85 members of her family, who were all killed by the Israeli military in Gaza. It's unconscionable. And a mayor's responsibilities to the people of this city, but it's also an opportunity to show your values as the leader of this city.

Mamdani sort of danced around the question but offered no definitive answer as to whether he’d arrest Netanyahu on American soil. Burnett didn’t really press, either, segueing instead into an exchange on communism and a very telling question:

BURNETT: So The New York Times reported that Trump spoke with Cuomo on the phone actually last month. And about the mayoral race. Cuomo denied this conversation took place. But this is the New York Times reporting. And as I pointed out a few moments ago, Trump has been very clear on who he backs. But it actually goes further than that, right? He has attacked you personally and publicly like this.

DONALD TRUMP: He's not a socialist. He's a communist. Okay? This is not a socialist. This is a communist. I don't like to see a communist become mayor. I will tell you that. I call him my little communist. He's my little communist mayor. We should never be in a position where we're talking about a communist. We're going to end up with a communist mayor. It's not even believable. My beautiful New York. I think if a communist takes over New York City, I think that's- that's a gift to the Republican Party.

BURNETT: Last time you were on this program, you were unequivocal in saying you do not like capitalism, but Trump, just in those remarks there, I counted- called you a communist eight times. Are you?

MAMDANI: No. I'm a Democratic socialist. I've said that time and again, and I think it reflects the fact that whereas those critiques, whereas that identity would have been enough for Donald Trump in the past, now he doesn't even want to use that because he knows that the message of my politics is one that is connecting with New Yorkers across the five boroughs. It's a message of dignity in each and every person's life. And what we're seeing in these clips, and what we're seeing in what Donald Trump says, is he's going through the many stages of grief. First, it's denial that this could ever take place. Now it's acceptance. And still, through it all, he is looking to use every tool at his disposal to help Andrew Cuomo become the next mayor of the city.

Once again, these questions and their stunning lack of follow-up enable Mamdani to look good and polished as his race for the mayoralty enters the final phase. Burnett didn’t ask Mamdani a single question on where he’s going to get the money to pay for his extravagant proposals. 

Viewers would’ve benefitted from actual journalism asking tough questions. Instead, they got propaganda and softball questions.

Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned interview as aired on CNN Upfront with Erin Burnett on Monday, September 29th, 2025:

CNN UPFRONT WITH ERIN BURNETT

9/29/25

7:30 PM

ERIN BURNETT: Tonight, Trump threatening to withhold federal funding from New York City if Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani wins in November. Posting after the current mayor, Eric Adams, abruptly dropped out of the race that Mamdani is going to, quote: “have problems with Washington like no mayor in the history of our once great city. Remember, he needs the money from me as president in order to fulfill all of his fake communist promises.” Out front now, New York state assemblyman and Democratic nominee for New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and I so much appreciate your time, Assemblyman and- President Trump has just spoken out on Eric Adams getting out of the New York mayor race. And he told Reuters, called him on the phone and said, “I think that gives Andrew Cuomo a much better chance. I do welcome it.” How wide is your lead, as you see it, over Cuomo now that Adams is out?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think the race is fundamentally the same as it was in that New Yorkers are not as concerned as to who is on the ballot, but rather what's on the ballot. And they're tired of this record that they've seen over the last four years, where Eric Adams has raised their rent, where he has slowed down their already extremely slow buses, where he has overlooked the very neighborhoods he promised to protect. And they know that Eric Adams' record is Andrew Cuomo's agenda. And they want to turn the page on that. And that's what our campaign actually presents.

BURNETT: So Eric Adams, we know met privately with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff- earlier this month is our understanding. And that one of the topics was possible opportunities in the Trump administration, one of which possibly could be ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Why do you think Adams dropped out now? We are essentially one month from Election Day.

MAMDANI: I have to be honest with you. I think it's a fool's errand to try and understand what Eric Adams does and why he does it. What I think is clear, though, is whether we're speaking about Adams or we're speaking about Cuomo we're speaking about supposed leaders who are willing to put their own personal ambition before the needs of the people they're supposed to serve. New Yorkers are right now under attack from an authoritarian administration in Washington. Donald Trump has ushered through legislation that will throw them off their health care, take SNAP benefits away from them all in service of the largest wealth transfer this country has seen. And instead of fighting back against that vision, instead of fighting for New Yorkers, these politicians are looking to get on the phone with Donald Trump to see what it is that they could broker together.

BURNETT: Do you think that there is some sort of a deal between Trump and Adams?

MAMDANI: I- I can't speak to that. All I can tell you, though, is that, you know, Donald Trump is clearing the way for Andrew Cuomo because Donald Trump knows that Andrew Cuomo will clear the way for Trump's agenda. And New Yorkers are tired of that agenda. They want someone who's actually beholden to the people of this city, not to The White House.

BURNETT: So Trump's trying to say there's- there's money behind this. He's threatened you on social media. He said, and I'm going to just read it because he just posted it today.” He's going to have problems”, talking about you, “with Washington. Like no mayor in the history of our once great city. Remember, he needs the money from me as president in order fulfill all of his fake communist promis- promises. He won't be getting any of it so what's the point of voting for him?” So the number this year from the federal government is $7.4 billion to New York City. Are you okay if New York City loses that?

MAMDANI: No. We will fight for every single dollar that the city currently receives from the federal government. And I look for examples across this country that showcase the best way to respond to Donald Trump's strengths is not collaboration. His- his threats, rather. It's responding with strength. And what we see in California is an attorney general of the state has estimated that for every dollar they spent on lawsuits against the federal government's threats to withhold funding, they won more than $30,000 in what would otherwise have been lost. And so we will take that same approach.

BURNETT: You visited a synagogue last week over the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, to bridge a divide with the Jewish community that you have had. And in that synagogue, as Tnotes, they were among the very first to call for a ceasefire right after the October 7th attacks. The rabbi and the service actually called Israel's war in Gaza genocide, which is something, of course, you have done as well. Many voters, though, who care deeply about this issue, who are Jewish, vehemently disagree. They see all this as deeply anti-semitic. They see you that way. And congressman Jerry Nadler, who supports you and is Jewish, says bluntly, “obviously, he ought to be trying to reassure the Jewish community. The community is very divided, basically on age lines.” Do you feel the need at this point to reassure the Jewish community in any more or different way than you have?

MAMDANI: You know, I feel the need to earn the support of each and every New Yorker, and that includes Jewish New Yorkers who may have concerns about our campaign or our agenda, and to reassure them as to the focus of this campaign is to deliver for every New Yorker. And what I find, especially now in the high holy days, this is a time when Jewish New Yorkers, especially with Yom Kippur, will reflect, will atone, will do the hard work of looking inward. And I think that our politics, our city could do much, could do very well, frankly, to emulate those lessons and actually to be able to reflect upon what has worked and not worked in this city. And I was really privileged to be at that Rosh Hashanah service. I had an older Jewish woman come up to me and give me a sticker that said, reject the smear campaign, join the schmear campaign. It was a sticker of a bagel and why she was supporting our campaign. And I'm looking forward to attending a number of services for Yom Kippur with Congressman Nadler as we continue to bring this message to each and every Jewish New Yorker across the five boroughs.

BURNETT: So Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting The White House, as we are talking today, he addressed the UN general assembly here just a few days ago in New York. Now, the International Criminal Court has a warrant out for his arrest. They say that he- they accuse him of crimes against humanity. You have called, as I mentioned, Netanyahu's actions in Gaza genocide. It's going to become not just a rhetorical, but a question rooted in reality if you are mayor. As mayor of New York, you will oversee the next UN general assembly, right? If you're mayor, will you abide by the international criminal court? Will you have prime minister Netanyahu arrested if he's here?

MAMDANI: Look, I've said time and time again that this is a city that believes in international law. This is a city whose values are ones that deserve to actually be reflected in our commitments. And I think that our city should uphold the warrants the International Criminal Court issues, whether it be for Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin. And also, I am not Donald Trump. I will follow the laws as they are, as opposed to bend them to my own will. So we will pursue every legal avenue to ensure that accountability is present. And the reason for that is that the context we are speaking about, you know, this is a man who has orchestrated a genocide that has killed one Palestinian child every hour for close to two years. This is someone whose conduct I hear about from New Yorkers across the five boroughs, and they come to me with a horror at what they have witnessed. And for some New Yorkers, a horror as to what they have lost. There was a Palestinian New Yorker who spoke to me about losing 85 members of her family, who were all killed by the Israeli military in Gaza. It's unconscionable. And a mayor's responsibilities to the people of this city, but it's also an opportunity to show your values as the leader of this city.

BURNETT: So The New York Times reported that Trump spoke with Cuomo on the phone actually last month. And about the mayoral race. Cuomo denied this conversation took place. But this is the New York Times reporting. And as I pointed out a few moments ago, Trump has been very clear on who he backs. But it actually goes further than that, right? He has attacked you personally and publicly like this.

DONALD TRUMP: He's not a socialist. He's a communist. Okay? This is not a socialist. This is a communist. I don't like to see a communist become mayor. I will tell you that. I call him my little communist. He's my little communist mayor. We should never be in a position where we're talking about a communist. We're going to end up with a communist mayor. It's not even believable. My beautiful New York. I think if a communist takes over New York City, I think that's- that's a gift to the Republican Party.

BURNETT: Last time you were on this program, you were unequivocal in saying you do not like capitalism, but Trump, just in those remarks there, I counted- called you a communist eight times. Are you?

MAMDANI: No. I'm a Democratic socialist. I've said that time and again, and I think it reflects the fact that whereas those critiques, whereas that identity would have been enough for Donald Trump in the past, now he doesn't even want to use that because he knows that the message of my politics is one that is connecting with New Yorkers across the five boroughs. It's a message of dignity in each and every person's life. And what we're seeing in these clips, and what we're seeing in what Donald Trump says, is he's going through the many stages of grief. First, it's denial that this could ever take place. Now it's acceptance. And still, through it all, he is looking to use every tool at his disposal to help Andrew Cuomo become the next mayor of the city.

BURNETT: So the word “Democratic Socialist”, and I put it in the context of the conversation you and I had when you said you had real issues with- with capitalism, that context is important. Our Isaac Dovere is reporting about your recent call with President Obama, and he reports “Obama reminded the Democratic nominee for New York mayor how many would be watching to see if a if a Democratic socialist could pull off running the nation's largest city, and how many critics would be waiting to pounce if it went wrong.” What do you think about that? And do you expect that he will endorse you and will stand with you before Election Day?

MAMDANI: I can't make any predictions as to endorsements. I can say, however, that I've been proud to receive the endorsements I've received thus far from Governor Hochul, from assembly speaker Carl Heastie, majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins of the state senate, who will be key in enacting our agenda and working together in Albany. And what I found is that this vision of a Democratic- of Democratic socialism, it's one that often comes back to what Martin Luther King said decades ago, a vision of, call it democracy or call it Democratic socialism. There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country. Here in New York City, wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, 1 in 4 are in poverty. 500,000 kids go to sleep hungry every night. It's untenable to live with this kind of a divide. We have to actually have a politics that puts working people first. And I think to this question of being under the microscope, you know, to be the mayor of New York City is a responsibility that you must fulfill. It's also an opportunity to actually serve New Yorkers who are being pushed out of the city, and to show an example of what life could be like.

BURNETT: Do you feel when you have a conversation with Barack Obama or other leaders of the Democratic party, Chuck Schumer, other others and Hochul’s endorsed you, I understand others have endorsed you. But on that line also, business leaders in the city who consider themselves to be big Democratic donors. Do you feel that they are taking you at this point seriously, like you could win and that they are listening to you? Or do you feel that they are not taking you seriously, and that they are dismissing you as a communist?

MAMDANI: I would say that they're taking me seriously, and the most accurate measure of that is the time that is being spent. The choice to actually have those meetings, to have those conversations. It's reflective of a fact that this is a campaign that is ever expanding in its coalition. You know, the reason I sit before you as the Democratic nominee. It's not because of any endorsements. It's because of the fact that people across the city work to make this moment possible. We had 52,000 volunteers in the primary. Today. We have more than 70,000. They're knocking on doors every single day with a message of affordability. And I've been proud to have meetings with those who will join our coalition to actually enact the agenda.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much.

 

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