Self-proclaimed socialist and Democrat nominee for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, said in 2021 that his “end goal” is “seizing the means of production,” despite recently claims that he is not a communist.

Mamdani, a New York state assemblyman and member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), shared his method to “win socialism” while appearing virtually at a DSA conference to mobilize young people in February 2021:

What the purpose is about this entire project — it’s not simply to raise class consciousness, but to win socialism. And obviously, raising class consciousness is a critical part of that, but making sure that we have candidates that both understand that and are willing to put that forward at every which moment that they have … We have to continue to elect more socialists, and we have to ensure that we are unapologetic about our socialism.

Naming other issues that socialists “firmly believe in,” Mamdani went on to highlight the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and the “end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment.”

“Organize for what is correct and for what is right, and to ensure that over time, we can bring people to that issue,” the mayoral candidate continued. “The ramifications of victory here is the difference between life and death for so many of our brothers and sisters and family beyond the binary across this borough of Queens.”

He added that socialism will bring policies like “sex work being decriminalized.”

Advocating for “seizing the means of production” is a cornerstone of Marxist and communist thought, as it was popularized by philosopher Karl Marx.

President Donald Trump criticized Mamdani as a “communist lunatic” after he beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in NYC’s Democratic primary last week, but the candidate claimed that his assessment was false:

“No, I am not,” Mamdani told NBC’s Kristen Welker when she asked if he is a communist. “I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am, ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for. And I’m fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed.”

He added, “When we talk about my politics, you know, I call myself a Democratic socialist in many ways inspired by the words of Dr. [Martin Luther] King from decades ago, who said, ‘Call it democracy, call it democratic socialism, there has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country.'”

Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.