U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, has thus far decided against endorsing far-left New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. 

The New York Post reports that this comes after the recent meetup between Jeffries and Mamdani.

Apparently, Jeffries was not satisfied with how that meeting went.

Whether Jeffries' endorsement, or lack thereof, really means a whole lot for the New York City mayoral race is unclear.

A "constructive" meeting

According to the Post, Jeffries and Mamdani met up with each other on Friday for a meeting that lasted about an hour.

The big question going into the meeting was whether Jeffries would, afterward, put his support behind Mamdani. At the time of this writing, which is the following day from the meetup, no such endorsement has been issued.

Instead, Jeffries has released what the Post has referred to as a "lukewarm" statement.

Justin Chermol, Jeffries spokesperson, said, "The meeting between Leader Jeffries and Assemblyman Mamdani was constructive, candid, and community-centered, with a particular focus on affordability." Chermol added, "Leader Jeffries and Assemblyman Mamdani discussed a variety of other important issues, including public safety, rising antisemitism, gentrification and the importance of taking back the House in 2026."

Mamdani recently a nearly identical statement of his own. This, apparently, was the most positive spin that they could put on the meeting.

Background

If there is a political candidate who is too far to the left for even today's Democratic Party, it is probably Mamdani.

Recent reporting has demonstrated just how far to the left Mamdani is.

Fox News, for example, reports:

New York City’s leading mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist, is raising eyebrows once again for appearing to suggest prisons are not important in a recently resurfaced video. Mamdani, a New York state assemblyman and the Democratic nominee for mayor, made the comments in a 2020 interview while running for state office. Asked whether he thought prisons were obsolete, Mamdani responded, "I think that frankly – I mean – what purpose do they serve? I think that we have to ask ourselves that."

Another report from Breitbart News highlights the fact that Mamdani has called for "the abolition of private property."

Despite these radical positions and others, Mamdani easily won the New York City primary, beating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). Many Democrats have been hesitant to endorse him, considering his radical views. The exceptions would include the likes of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).