But the message that resonated strongly with supporters was about the growing income inequality and the consolidation of wealth in fewer hands.<\/p>\n
Sanders focused on national issues, directing sharp criticism at billionaire owners of major media companies, including David Ellison, who now oversees Paramount, which owns CBS News, and whom Sanders argues are not being critical enough of the White House under their new ownership.<\/p>\n
The network, which recently merged with Skydance Media<\/a>, paid $16m to settle a lawsuit alleging that an interview with then-Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris had been altered. Earlier this week, CBS also announced that it would no longer edit interviews on its Sunday political show Face the Nation following complaints from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Sanders also took aim at Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla. On Friday, Tesla shareholders approved a $1 trillion <\/a>compensation package for the world\u2019s richest man.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are living in a crazy world,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n \u201cMillions of people are struggling to put food on the table, and they [Tesla shareholders] are making one guy a trillionaire.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani focused his attention on big businesses like the delivery service DoorDash, which spent $1m in efforts to defeat Mamdani, calling it out twice in the town hall.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York City is not for sale,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n Even as criticisms of that campaign are not friendly to the larger business community, Mamdani has been taking on those concerns. In July, not long after clinching the Democratic nomination, Mamdani met business leaders from across New York to address their concerns about his policy stances, which The Partnership for New York City \u2014 a business advocacy group \u2014 said was \u201cproductive\u201d.<\/p>\n Even so, the core of the message that Mamdani and Sanders tapped into was a sentiment outside the business community, issues that resonated with working- and middle-class supporters, which have driven Mamdani\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n Childcare was among the topics brought up by locals at the town hall, which, according to the New York City Council, can cost as much as 25 percent of household income.<\/p>\n One in the audience, a working mother, said she spends $36,000 on childcare a year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to feel the depth of the statistics we have grown numb to,\u201d Mamdani said in response to a teacher who asked about his plan on childcare.<\/p>\n Mamdani has proposed free childcare for children aged between six weeks and five years.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s thumb on the scale<\/p>\n But his efforts come amid concerns that the Trump administration may be trying to meddle in the New York mayoral race after allegedly offering support to incumbent Eric Adams, currently in fourth place in the polls, trailing Mamdani, who holds a double-digit lead over Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York state and his nearest competitor, according to all major polls except one from the right-leaning Manhattan Institute. Republican Curtis Sliwa follows behind Adams.<\/p>\n Adams is reportedly being considered for a role in the Trump administration. The New York Times reported that Trump is considering nominating him to be the ambassador to Saudi Arabia<\/a>, citing four people familiar with the matter.\u00a0On Friday, Trump denied the claims that he is considering Adams for the role.<\/p>\n It comes days after Adams denied he was in talks with the Trump administration to be considered for a post in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.<\/p>\n Adams told reporters on Friday that he would not drop out of the race amid another New York Times report that the controversy embroiling the mayor is also being considered for suspending his re-election bid.<\/p>\n Representatives for Adams\u2019s campaign did not respond to Al Jazeera\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n Cuomo also pushed back on the president\u2019s alleged involvement in the race.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want him [Trump]\u00a0 involved in anything to do with my race,\u201d Cuomo told reporters on Friday.<\/p>\n Cuomo, who is in second, still believes that the Mamdani camp is concerned that if Adams or Curtis Sliwa, another Republican, were to drop out of the race, voters would flock to his campaign.<\/p>\n While Mamdani holds a commanding lead in the polls, he has not broken the 50 percent<\/a> mark on any of them.<\/p>\n Cuomo\u2019s campaign did not respond to Al Jazeera\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n Mamdani also pushed back on Trump\u2019s involvement in the race.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a city where we will choose our own mayor,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2025-09-06T225638Z_952601279_RC2MMGA45SVC_RTRMADP_3_USA-ELECTION-NEW-YORK-1757210881.jpg\")
Mamdani and Sanders say their movement is part of a national shift for progressives in upcoming mayoral elections across the US, September 6, 2025 [Eduardo Munoz\/Reuters]<\/p>\n