Mamdani marks July 4 with a pro-immigration speech, ripping Trump’s policies without using his name

(CNN) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani argued a true celebration of patriotism should confront both the nation’s ideals and its flaws, in a speech Friday on the eve of America’s 250th birthday.

The speech, meant to contrast to President Donald Trump’s planned remarks at Mount Rushmore, was steeped in symbolism and centered immigration as its primary theme. A naturalized citizen born in Uganda to parents of Indian-origin, Mamdani sat behind a desk used by George Washington, with naturalized immigrants standing around him holding American flags.

Mamdani made several references to “powerful” interests he argued believe the fruit of America should only be reaped by few.

“America, if you ask them, becomes less the more people it welcomes,” Mamdani said. “America, they will tell you, belongs only to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin. The rest of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being allowed to visit.”

Mamdani gave the speech at New York City Hall which is located just steps away from the site where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the Continental Army.

Mamdani, who has met with Trump twice at the White House, did not call the president out by name but his remarks were critical of the administration’s policies. He framed America as a nation that has been continually reshaped by immigrants, activists and ordinary citizens pushing the country to live up to the founding principles established more than two centuries ago. He also noted seeing the Statue of Liberty from an airplane when he immigrated to the US with his family.

“We see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans,” Mamdani said. “We see a nation whose immense wealth has been built by those with calloused, dirt-streaked hands — those who toil on factory floors and chisel into stone — and we see a nation that has allowed so much of that wealth to be held instead in the soft hands of a precious few.”

The speech served as the latest high-profile national appearance for the mayor since taking office in January.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has increasingly become a prominent voice within the Democratic Party following a string of victories by candidates he endorsed in New York’s recent primaries. He has openly sought a greater role in shaping the party’s future, citing the November midterms and the fight to follow for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination.

Under the Constitution, Mamdani cannot seek the presidency or vice-presidency because he is a not a natural-born citizen. The mayor has rejected talk of a constitutional amendment to allow him to seek the White House, telling ABC News last week he believed the Constitution “looks good just the way it is.”

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