Mamdani marks US anniversary with call for unity and inclusion

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used a speech marking the 250th anniversary of the United States on Friday to present an inclusive vision of American identity, drawing a contrast with the immigration policies and rhetoric of President Donald Trump.

Speaking at City Hall from behind a desk once used by George Washington, Mamdani criticised what he described as efforts by political leaders to frame immigration and national identity in exclusionary terms, says NBC.

"America, they will tell you, belongs only to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin. The rest of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being allowed to visit. How small they are. How weak, how unoriginal," Mamdani said.

He argued that political leaders have long sought to gain power by dividing people and described "division" as the "oldest" and "cheapest" trick in politics.

"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."

The address featured recently naturalised US citizens standing alongside the mayor and waving American flags, a visual element intended to reinforce his message that the country's founding ideals belong to all Americans.

"The work of fulfilling the values first enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, that work endures, and it belongs to us all. It belongs, too, to our newest Americans, those standing here with me today, all of whom were recently naturalised," he said.

Mamdani also spoke about his own path to citizenship. Born in Uganda and naturalised in 2018, he reflected on becoming an American citizen.

"Nearly a decade ago, I too felt what you feel, the joy of no longer being just a New Yorker, but an American, too," he said.

Mamdani said a central irony of American exceptionalism was that much of the country's history had been shaped "by those who were told by others with power and influence and wealth that they were anything but exceptional."

He described the United States as a nation in a continuing process of striving towards its founding ideals.

"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 said.

Mamdani concluded with an appeal to civic responsibility, saying democratic values could endure periods of political strain if citizens actively defended them.

"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.

"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."

The speech came during a significant week in US politics, taking place hours before Trump was scheduled to deliver his own anniversary address at Mount Rushmore.

It also followed a Supreme Court ruling upholding birthright citizenship, a decision described by observers as a setback for Trump's immigration agenda.

The address was also viewed as a sign of Mamdani's growing national profile following recent victories by candidates he had endorsed in Democratic primary contests.