Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) addresses the crowd and swears in the next mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Thank you. Mr. Mayor, thank you very much for inviting me to what has been an extraordinarily moving and beautiful afternoon. And I’m here mostly to thank the people of New York City. At a time in our country’s history when we are seeing too much hatred, too much divisiveness, and too much injustice, thank you for electing Zohran Mamdani as your mayor. New York, thank you for inspiring our nation. Thank you for giving us, from coast to coast, the hope and the vision that we can create government that works for all, not just the wealthy and the few. In a moment when people in America and, in fact, throughout the world are losing faith in democracy, over 90,000 of you in this city volunteered for Zohran’s campaign. You knocked on doors. You shared your dreams and your hopes for the future of this city. And in the process, you took on the Democratic establishment, the Republican establishment, the President of the United States, and some enormously wealthy oligarchs. And you defeated them in the biggest political upset in modern American history. You showed the world the most important lesson that can be learned today, and that is that when working people stand together, when we don’t let them divide us up, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. Running a great and winning campaign was extremely difficult, but governing a city of 8 million people with all of its complexities and all of the problems that Zohran is inheriting will be even harder. Zohran needed your help to win the election. Now he will need your help to govern. Grassroots democracy and people participating in the day-to-day struggles of this city will lead to good governance. Please remain involved. You know, all of us have heard how Zohran’s opponents have called the agenda that he campaigned on radical. Communistic? Oh, and absolutely unachievable. Really? That’s not what we believe. In the richest country in the history of the world, making sure that people can live in affordable housing is not radical. It is the right and decent thing to do, and in the midst of a massive housing crisis, it is exactly what the people of this city and this country want and need. Providing free and high-quality childcare is not radical. Countries all over the world have done it for years. It is what our kids require if they’re going to be well-prepared for school and what working parents desperately need. It is, in fact, what every city in America should be doing. Free bus transportation is not radical. It will save workers time and money, protect our environment, and make the city more efficient. And making sure that every family in this city, regardless of income, has access to decent-quality food at an affordable cost is not radical. Good nutrition keeps us healthy, helps prevent chronic illnesses. In the long run, city-sponsored grocery stores will save society money. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes… …as I was saying. Demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes is not radical. It is exactly the right thing to do. Today, while over 60% of our people, people in New York, people in Vermont, people all over this country, are living paycheck to paycheck, we have more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had. While tens of millions struggle to put food on the table, pay for health care, pay for housing, the top 1% have never, ever had it so good. And yet, there are billionaires and large corporations that pay almost nothing in taxes. That has got to end. That will end. The billionaire class in this city and in this country have got to understand that in America, they cannot have it all. That America, our great country, must belong to all of us, not just a few. And that lesson begins today in New York City. Let me thank you all for the hope and inspiration that you are giving people all over this country.

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