Mamdani to Give His Own Speech for America's 250th

New York City's mayor will mark America's 250th birthday by putting immigrants center stage. Zohran Mamdani is slated to speak Friday from George Washington's desk at city hall alongside newly sworn-in citizens, hours before President Trump delivers his own remarks at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, CBS News reports. Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and later became a US citizen, will appear just days after the Supreme Court reaffirmed birthright citizenship in a closely watched decision that drew sharp criticism from some conservatives.

The mayor's office confirmed that he will deliver a "major address" at 10am. The YouTube page for the event is here. He plans to talk about the nation's principles, and about when the country falls short of the values set out in its founding documents, the New York Times reports. "Anniversaries of this scale are not just invitations to reflect on the past," Mamdani recently told the Times. "They are also a mirror."

• Mamdani, whose family came to the US when he was seven, said his early memories of Fourth of July celebrations were of fireworks and barbecues, but his feelings about the holiday became more complicated in later years. "I remember many a college dorm room poster describing patriotism in the language of 'love it or leave it,' but patriotism is not pretending our country has no flaws," said the mayor, who graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 2014. "It is loving our country enough to fight for the fulfillment of its ideals. The freedoms we enjoy were not handed down; they were won. And we have many more to win."

The event comes as Mamdani's clout inside the Democratic Party is growing, the Hill reports. A self-described democratic socialist, he recently notched wins by backing three House candidates, two of whom unseated incumbents, intensifying talk about the left's influence in the party. He is also a prominent critic of Israel and US policy in the Middle East, denouncing AIPAC funding and describing US military action in Iran as an "illegal war of aggression." Despite those stances, sources say Mamdani has managed what's described as a "productive" working relationship with Trump, including two Oval Office meetings.