President Donald Trump calls him a “communist.” His critics say he wants to defund the police. Zohran Mamdani insists he’s just a guy trying to make New York City more affordable. Mamdani’s meteoritic rise to become the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor has put his policy positions unde scrutiny. He’d be the city’s most liberal mayor in generations. But as he tries to broaden his support ahead of the November election, the state lawmaker has shifted more to the center on certain issues. He says he no longer wants to defund the NYPD. And Mamdani says that while he believes government should play a role in reducing economic disparity, he's no communist.