Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday weighed in on the controversial “Woke 1 was crazy” comment made by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and City Councilor Chi Ossé, offering a nuanced defense that political views can shift over time.
Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for the long-delayed Tremont Avenue busway in the Bronx, Mamdani said candidates have a duty to articulate their current convictions honestly. “Sometimes, what you believe can change and develop, it can grow,” he said, according to Newsday. “I’ve made very clear that I do not believe in defunding the police, that I will not be defunding the police.”
The mayor’s remarks come amid a broader Democratic debate about the party’s direction, with Ocasio-Cortez’s recent comments drawing both support and criticism. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has previously emphasized the need to revive the party’s New Deal roots, but he has also sought to position himself as a pragmatist on public safety.
Mamdani stressed that delivering on public safety requires collaboration with the NYPD “alongside many other partners.” He pointed to department data showing “the fewest murders on record in New York City and the fewest shooting incidents on record” through the first seven months of 2026. “And that, to me, is how we measure a lot of our public safety,” he concluded.
The “Woke 1” phrase originated Sunday when Ocasio-Cortez, paraphrasing Ossé, was asked on ABC’s “This Week” about former Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong’s past positions. Ocasio-Cortez explained that during the COVID-19 pandemic, “there was a huge opening of the Overton window,” with unprecedented unemployment and shutdowns prompting consideration of “any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place.” She called those discussions “quite fruitful” but acknowledged that “rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric that we would use today.”
Hong, a democratic socialist like Ocasio-Cortez, Ossé, and Mamdani, had previously advocated for abolishing prisons and defunding the police. She also drew attention for calling Thanksgiving “incredibly painful for many people in our communities.” On Tuesday, Hong lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a defeat that handed leftists a rare setback amid a wave of democratic socialist victories over moderates and incumbents.
Outgoing Gov. Tony Evers endorsed Crowley, while Hong received support from some progressives like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) but not from Ocasio-Cortez or Sen. Bernie Sanders. Mamdani’s comments suggest a pragmatic turn for the left, acknowledging that positions once considered radical may need to evolve to win elections and govern effectively.
The mayor’s stance aligns with his broader efforts to balance progressive ideals with practical governance, a theme that has defined his early tenure as he navigates a city with significant public safety challenges. His emphasis on measurable outcomes, such as reduced crime, underscores a shift toward results-oriented politics among some democratic socialists.
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, the debate over “woke” positions and their electoral viability is likely to intensify, with figures like Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez signaling a willingness to adapt while still championing core progressive values.
