From WNYC Studios, I'm Brian Lerer. This is my daily politics podcast. It's Friday, July 11th.

What is Democratic Socialism? Who are the Democratic Socialists of America? And what is Iran-Mam Dani's relationship to the

movement or the group? We know that Assemblyman Mamdani is a member of the DSA. Most of you know that.

You know that very fact is a draw for some voters and a repellent for others. Maybe you heard President

Trump this week,

call him a communist and threaten a federal takeover of New York City because of it. We've got

several Mamdani clips about this that will play, and we'll talk to John Jay College of Criminal

Justice Professor Susan Kang, who's also a DSA member. But we'll start here. In the mayoral primary debate that I helped

to moderate last month, candidate Whitney Tilson questioned Mamdani directly, citing language that

concerned Tilsen from the DSA website. Here's that 90-second exchange.

Zoran, you're a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

You refer to each other as Comrade.

And right now on the DSA's website, it calls for the government ownership of all major industries

to decriminalize all misdemeanors, including theft and

assault, to empty our prisons, and to disarm, dismantle, and defund the police. So your words are

very reassuring, but this is what I read from your people, and I wonder if you will disavow

this or implement it as mayor.

Yes, like David Dinkins, I am a member of the organization, and the organization's platform is not the platform of this campaign.

The platform of this campaign is the one you can find on the website at ZaharanfornYC.com.

That's a platform that is going to deliver an affordable city for New Yorkers who are currently

being priced out of what is instead the most expensive city in the United States.

It's one that we're going to deliver public safety to each and every New Yorker, and we're going to do so by recognizing the critical role that police have to play in that,

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