WILLIAM BRANGHAM: As the Muslim holy# month of Ramadan comes to a close,## Amna Nawaz traveled to New York# City to talk to one of the most## high-profile Muslim leaders in one of the most# high-pressure political jobs in the country.

Zohran Mamdani is less than three# months into his term as mayor of## America's biggest city.

He's juggling how# to fulfill his ambitious campaign promises,## manage a huge budget deficit, and respond to a# rise in Islamophobic rhetoric across the country.

The young Democratic socialist has also# forged a unique relationship with President## Trump through Oval Office visits and# their shared love of New York City.

Here's Amna's exclusive# conversation with Mayor Mamdani.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mr.

Mayor, welcome to the# "News Hour."

Thanks for making the time.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), Mayor of New York City:# Absolutely.

Thank you so much for being here.

AMNA NAWAZ: So let's talk a little bit# about your first few months in offi.. You really had to hit the ground# running.

You had a lot coming at## you too.

You had a major nurses strike# to handle, a record-breaking snowstorm.

I know you have probably heard the# difference between campaigning in poetry,## governing in prose.

Does that bring true# to you?

Have you found that to be true?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think there's still# a little poetry in the day-to-day.

AMNA NAWAZ: OK.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think it's important that we don't let our imagination become# constrained by what .. And in some ways we tasked ourselves with# trying to keep up with New Yorkers, because,## in addition to first winter storm in# a while, first blizzard in 10 years,## nurses strike, where we stood there on the# picket line with the nurses as they fought## for wages that could afford to have to live in# New York City as they worked in New York City,## we also just wanted to show New Yorkers that# city government could work as fast as they do.

AMNA NAWAZ: What's surprised you most about# the role since you have stepped into it?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think the amount that you can# do, to be honest with you.

It's not to say that## this work is easy, but that when you are willing,# there is an immense amount of possibility.

And then, on day eight, we joined together# with Governor Hochul to announce a $1.2## billion funding of a pathway to# universal childcare.

And that's## transformative for New York City families.# And to have the opportunity to be able to## act upon the vision that we'd shared with# New Yorkers, it's the gift of a lifetime.

AMNA NAWAZ: You also very early held a press# conference in which you shared that you would## inherited a major budget deficit, some $12# billion.

Tell me -- and you have repeated it## actually since then in multiple interviews# I know you want to get that message out.

Is that a little bit about# expectation setting?

Like,## you might not be able to hit all of the# affordability goals that you set out?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: We just want to be honest# and transparent with New Yorkers.

We're## talking about a generational fiscal deficit,# as you said, inheriting what was $12 billion.

And thanks to the work that we have done in terms# of savings, in terms of utilizing our reserves,## we have brought that down to $5.4 billion, also# in partnership with the governor's commitment## to this city.

And now, over these next few weeks# and months, our job is to bring that down to zero.

AMNA NAWAZ: What's the plan to bring it# down to zero?

You have to raise revenue.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: We believe that a structural# crisis deserves structural solutions.

And## that comes from taxing the wealthiest a# little bit more and also ensuring that## the relationship between the city and the state# isn't as imbalanced as it's been in the past.

AMNA NAWAZ: Following up on a campaign promise,## you said you were going to create a Department# of Community Safety with a billion-do.. What you announced this week, I think it's# fair to describe, is a pared-down version.

So is this part of this paring down of ambitions## because of the budget crisis?# How should we look at this?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Our ambitions# will never be pared down.

AMNA NAWAZ: OK.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: This## is the beginning of wh.. However, New Yorkers can't afford to wait for# an answer to the mental health crisis.

They## can't afford to wait for a legislative process# to play out or for politics to come its course.## What this is all about is responding to the# crises, whether it's the mental health crisis,## the crisis of gun violence, the crisis of hate# violence, even gender-based violence in the city.

We are finally co-hearing what# were previously disparate offices,## putting them within one portfolio# of work within city government,## and starting to respond to them in a manner that# actually befits the seriousness of the issue.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Mr.

Mayor, we# are speaking on the last day of## Ramadan.

And as the first Muslim mayor# of New York City, you, I understand,## have been fasting this entire time as you are# governing in this very demanding environment.

Just give me a sense of what# your days have been like.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Well, in many ways, the days# look as they did before.

There's obviously## an absence of food and water over the course# of them.

This may be the first time they're## seeing a Muslim in public office during the# month of Ramadan and all that comes with it.

For me, I am seeing so many Muslims who've# been here far longer than I have who've## been doing this work, and they have been# doing it no matter what the demand is.

AMNA NAWAZ: You also chose to break your fast one# day out on Rikers Island.

Tell me about that.

Why?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: It was one of the most# meaningful evenings I have had as the mayor.

And to be on Rikers Island praying# alongside incarcerated New Yorkers,## as well as New Yorkers who work on Rikers# Island, it was really an occasion to## recognize the humanity in others and also, in# doing so, recognize more of it in ourselves.

AMNA NAWAZ: It's worth noting too, though,# in your first few months in office,## you have already seen anti-Muslim protesters# outside your home, not protesting your## policies or anything else, protesting your# faith outside of the place that you live.

You have been the target of attacks by lawmakers,## calling for you to be denaturalized and deported.# Representative Andy Ogles has said Muslims don't## belong in American society.

Representative# Randy Fine said we need more Islamophobia,## not less.

Representative Andrew Clyde# said no more Islamic immigration.

I think anyone who grew up post-9/11 knows that# anti-Muslim bigotry isn't anything new here, but,## to you, does it seem like there's something# different or something new this time?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think there's# an unabashed nature to it,## and it is being echoed from the# highest offices in this country.

They do so without any sense of shame.

And what# is remarkable about Islamophobia and anti-Muslim## bigotry is not that it is bigoted, for there is# so much bigotry in this country.

It is that there## are very few who speak up in opposition to it,# the manner in which it has become normalized.## And it is not exclusive to any one political# party.

It is endemic, frankly, to our politics.

And what this kind of bigotry shows# is a complete erasure of the million## or so Muslims who call the city home, whose# identity has often been one that they are made## to feel as if is in tension with being in New# Yorker, when, as I grew up here, I understood,## and so many others did, that there is no tension# in those identities.

They can be one and the same.

AMNA NAWAZ: But, Mr.

Mayor,# when they're coming after you,## when they are showing your face on# TV screens, calling you a jihadist,## saying you're the enemy, do you worry# about your own safety and security here?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I'm very lucky that I have an# incredible team of NYPD officers who keep me safe## each and every day.

And my fear, frankly,# is for those whose names we do not know,## whose professions we do not know who# are seen and understood to be Muslim## and will be attacked for it.

And they# will not have the protections that I do.

AMNA NAWAZ: Among the millions# of people, of course, that you## represent here in New York is also the largest# Jewish population any city outside of Israel,## over a million people, many of whom,# as you know, did not vote for you.

Have you met with the groups that have expressed# concern about what they say was a rolling back## of protections against antisemitism?# What are those conversations like?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: They have been continuing,# and it's really been a pleasure to meet with## so many Jewish leaders across the city.# It was actually not that long ago in this## very room that I met with a number# of Orthodox leaders across the city,## and we discussed antisemitism and our commitment# to rooting it out across the five boroughs.

We also discussed childcare and housing and# polity of life issues, because those are also## the concerns that fill the lives of Jewish New# Yorkers across the city.

My job is not to be a## mayor just for those who voted for me or those# who agree with my politics.

My job is to be the## mayor for everyone who calls the city home, and# to deliver them a city that they can be proud of.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Mr.

Mayor, there was a time# not too long ago when the president himself## was attacking you quite frequently,# and you him, we should say.

He was## calling you a lunatic.

You had promised to# be his worst nightmare if you were elected.

After your meeting with him in# the Oval Office in November,## all of that changed.

Why?# What happened to that room?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You know, the president# and I have many disagreements.

We're not## shy about them.

We have been public about# them.

We have been private about them.

One thing we have very much in agreement is a# love of New York City.

And so in that meeting,## in the subsequent conversations, and then# in the following Oval Office meeting,## I have gone back to the president# with our hopes for what it could## look like to actually put this city on# better footing in the years to come.

I put forward a plan to build more housing than# New York City has seen in any single housing## development since the early '70s.

Alongside# that, I also made clear to the president,## as I have before, my continued belief# that ICE raids are cruel and inhumane,## that they do nothing to advance# the cause of public safety.

And I gave him and his chief of staff a list of# five who had been detained in or around Columbia## University.

And maybe about 30 or so minutes after# the meeting, the president called me to say that## he made the decision that he was going to release# that student who'd been detained that morning.

AMNA NAWAZ: So you found a way to have a# productive relationship with this president,## despite your many differences.# How would you describe that?

Is## it a partnership?

Is it an alliance?

What is it?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think it's a productive# relationship between the mayor of this city,## the president of this country,# and one that is also honest.

I want to always be honest with the# president and with the public about## where those disagreements are and also that# my job is not to litigate the disagreements,## but to deliver for the people of New York City.

AMNA NAWAZ: How often do you# two text or talk to each other?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I will# leave that to the two of us,## but I will tell you that that's# the focus of that relationship.

AMNA NAWAZ: Once a week,# twice a week?

Hotter?

Colder?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I will keep# that between the two of us.

AMNA NAWAZ: I have to ask you about your# family before I let you go, because I think## anyone familiar with the specific and what I# would say very fortunate experience of being## raised by Desi parents, South Asian parents,# especially those with the courage and the hope## to forge an entirely new life in new nations,# you know that you can learn a lot from them.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: What.. ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You know, my mother would always# tell me, if we don't tell our own stories,## no one else will.

And she imbued within me# the importance of being proud of who you are.

And my father, also, he taught me, so often# when you're growing up as a minority in a place,## you can grow up also with a sense# of almost a chip on your shoulder.## With it also comes the ability to see# the truth of a place in its entirety,## the promise of it and that which still needs# to be worked on.

And that was, in such a way,## so freeing to hear as a young person,# to understand my place in the world and## the responsibility that I had within it and# the fact that it was a gift, not a burden.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mr.

Mayor, it's been such# a pleasure to speak with you today.

Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York# City, thank you for making the time.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You're very# welcome.

Thank you so much.