As a number of July 4th celebrations have been scaled back or canceled ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took the somewhat surprising approach of actually making a statement acknowledging the incredible milestone.
But the socialist politician wasn’t satisfied with a standard greeting, instead offering his far-left take on topics like patriotism and American exceptionalism.
As The Hill reported:
“We are told that America is exceptional because it is stronger, more powerful than everyone else,” the mayor added. “The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because, here, nothing is fixed into place.”
Surrounded by a group of recently naturalized citizens, Mamdani rejected the “love it or leave it” philosophy of patriotism, arguing that the fundamental ideal rests in striving to make the country better.
“Patriotism has never been about pretending our nation is without flaws,” he said. “Patriotism is every act of righteous dissent. It is every march led under the heavy sun. It is every protest held a decade before its time.”
“It is precisely because we love this country that we will not leave it,” he continued. “After all, who loves America more than those who have sacrificed so much to make it free?”
His remarks fueled considerable criticism from those concerned about the impact his far-left agenda will have on the Big Apple and US politics in general:
I’m sick of this Islamic takeover of America!
Bring in the military and protect the constitution and our Constitutional Republic before we end up like the UK 🇬🇧!
— Hunny Bear (@Hunny_BearCub) July 3, 2026
“a citizen” is the key phrase that you seem to miss entirely.
— Omar ☪️ (@OaddhCwimh) July 3, 2026
Typical "projecting", as usual. An Islamist who has been here for 12-years, denigrating and slamming 250-years of the freest, greatest country in the world? This trojan horse has no right to dictate to us… the US Citizenry
— Kevin Hartford (@KevinHartford13) July 3, 2026
That’s insane. New York and Michigan are conquered. Texas and Florida are next on the list.
— Kyllandra (@KyllandraFTW) July 3, 2026
The DSA is 85% White educated idiots.
They are the only folks buying this shit.
We need to shame Them and educate them.
He is just a symptom of the bigger problem of anti-American propaganda at our schools and Universities. pic.twitter.com/owdlhxnZRf
— Nina 🇮🇱 🇺🇸 (@NinaRene6) July 3, 2026
Here’s how NBC News covered the speech:
“At every moment in our past, those who led through exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich themselves by turning us against one another,” Mamdani said. “Time and again, including 250 years ago, those forces of division have been vanquished by the forces of progress.”
He concluded his address with a pitch for the future.
“Those ideals upon which our nation was built, they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them,” he said, moments before ending his address.
“Ours is a nation working each day towards the perfection in which it was conceived, a nation striving each day to better itself. Therein lies the work of America, the striving, the bettering, the reaching towards perfection,” he added.
Mamdani called it a “privilege” to live in a nation where each of its inhabitants can shape.
“What a responsibility each of us possesses to prove ourselves worthy of all those who came before. What power each of us holds to bring America ever closer to the greatness so many have seen when they looked upon these shores, the greatness that for 250 years has been America,” Mamdani concluded.
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And here’s a full clip:
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