Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended a socialist "insurgency" inside the Democratic Party on Monday, insisting the change ushered in by figures like Mayor Zohran Mamdani is "bluntly needed" and evidence of disillusionment with the status quo.
"We needed a change because [of] what happened in 2024," de Blasio told "America's Newsroom."
"People saw the Democratic Party [as] part of the status quo that they did not like. Ironically, Trump seemed like the guy who was ready to break the status quo. Now the tables have turned. Trump is the status quo guy."
The New York Democrat likened Trump to former President Joe Biden, insisting that both leaders have been guilty of "defending" agendas that many Americans believe have not produced favorable results.
He argued that both presidents spoke positively about their agendas and the economy under their administrations, even as many Americans struggled and felt their needs had gone largely unaddressed.
"He's [Trump is] constantly talking about how great things are when people don't feel great... [he] seems out of touch with the day-to-day kitchen table reality of Americans, and he's doing things that, obviously, people are not into, like the war in Iran," de Blasio said.
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM IS SWEEPING THE NATION. VOTERS SHOULD BE ALARMED
"The American people don't want that war, so the Democrats need to break from that aggressively," he added. "And I think what we're seeing in these primaries is a rejection of a lot of that mainstream Democrat 'go along, get along' politics. It just wasn't working."
De Blasio's remarks come as a group of far-left progressives and self-avowed Democratic socialists emerge victorious in primary races across the U.S.
In New York alone, a trio of Mamdani-backed candidates notched key victories, further signaling the leftward shift.
In Washington, D.C., Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George defeated a more moderate opponent to claim the Democratic nomination in the race to succeed Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Progressive candidate Graham Platner won a key Senate primary in Maine and will go toe-to-toe against longtime incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November's midterms.
Democratic socialists have prevailed in other areas, including in Los Angeles, where far-left Nithya Raman will challenge incumbent Democrat Karen Bass in the mayoral race later this year, and in Colorado, where Democratic socialist Melat Kiros is challenging longtime incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette.