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Can Mayor Mamdani get Democrats back on track?

A top Obama aide on what Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days tell us about the Democratic Party.

After a historic victory last fall, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked 100 days in office earlier this month.

So far, it’s going pretty well: His approval numbers are broadly positive, he’s begun to deliver on some of his key campaign promises, and he weathered his first major challenge as mayor after NYC endured two serious winter storms earlier in the year. (He’s also successfully charmed President Donald Trump not once but twice.)

Mamdani’s track record also suggests some questions for the Democratic Party as it heads into the midterms. Among them: Is Mamdani’s success a glimpse into the party’s future? How much of it can be replicated outside of New York or on a national stage? And how much is the party willing to listen?

Ben Rhodes was a deputy national security adviser and close aide to Barack Obama. He’s now an author and co-host of Pod Save the World, a podcast about world news and foreign policy. Today, Explained co-host Sean Rameswaram, asked Rhodes what lessons the party can draw from Mamdani and which candidates are sticking out as possible Mamdani-esque successes.

Below is an excerpt of the conversation, edited for length and clarity. There’s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.

You’re here to help us understand how [Mamdani]’s being perceived within the party. How’s he being spoken about inside that Democratic tent?

It’s interesting because there are two cleavages in the Democratic Party. One is between left and center. But the other is more about body language. Do you understand what is happening? Do you understand the scale of the danger that Trump poses? Do you understand the scale of the disgust that people feel for the Democratic Party and politics in general? Do you understand the need for generational change?

I think that........

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