Kimmel Effusively Praises Mamdani: 'Come to L.A. and Be Our Mayor'

Alex Christy
September 29th, 2026 9:50 AM

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There are softball interviews, and then there is whatever ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel did on his Monday show with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. As Jimmy Kimmel Live! started its week-long Brooklyn field trip, the part of Kimmel that seeks to portray himself as someone who speaks truth to power took a backseat to the part of him that is fangirls over left-wing politicians as he invited Mamdani to come back to Los Angeles and “be our mayor.”

Before Kimmel introduced Mamdani, Kimmel played a montage of conservative media personalities warning about what would happen to New York if Mamdani were to get elected. However, given the left-wing audience, Mamdani was greeted with a boisterous ovation, which led Kimmel to begin, “I think this means you're doing a good job. I have to tell you, I live in Los Angeles, and that is not the reception our mayor would get. So, how is the complete and total destruction of New York going?”

 

 

Mamdani retorted, “You know, it's proceeding as planned.

Kimmel then continued with the gush-fest, “This is really, I think you've taken an interesting tack. It's what you said you were going to do, but, you know, most of the time mayors don't do what they say they were planning to do. And you focus on really, I think, simple, common-sense things. Like, we talked about the potholes, obviously, you filled a lot of those potholes. Do you think Mayor Adams goes ‘Why didn't I fill the potholes? That would have been a good idea.’ You have creative ideas that seem to be successful so far. Like this parents’ night out idea.”

Mamdani replied, “I think the two most valuable things to parents are time and money, and we wanted to give them back a little bit of that. And so we created a night parents could finally go out to the date they've been putting off, some of them for years, and know they didn't have to shell out for a babysitter.”

For Kimmel, the hagiographical interview was just beginning. Later, he recalled Mamdani’s public relationship with President Trump, “You seem to be doing a great job in New York but could move to Washington and hang out at the Oval Office all day. Like if you texted him a selfie of us right now—”

 

 

After Mamdani declined, Kimmel continued, “I’m sure you—listen, I know you're focused on your job right now and the city. Would you come to L.A. and be our mayor after this? We got a lot of potholes.”

Kimmel, like so many others in the media, wants to paint Mamdani as the guy who just fixes the potholes, but the reason why Mamdani is fixing more potholes is because there are more potholes to fix due to last year’s nasty winter. Even if Mamdani’s pothole-fixing record was something to praise, Mamdani’s critics that Kimmel mocked at the beginning were right to warn about his unwillingness to combat anti-Semitism and his associations with terrorist sympathizers.  

Here is a transcript for the September 28-taped show:

ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!

9/29/2026

12:42 AM ET

JIMMY KIMMEL: I think this means you're doing a good job. I have to tell you, I live in Los Angeles, and that is not the reception our mayor would get. So, how is the complete and total destruction of New York going?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: You know, it's proceeding as planned.

KIMMEL: This is really, I think you've taken an interesting tack. It's what you said you were going to do, but, you know, most of the time mayors don't do what they say they were planning to do. And you focus on really, I think, simple, common-sense things. Like, we talked about the potholes, obviously, you filled a lot of those potholes. Do you think Mayor Adams goes "Why didn't I fill the potholes? That would have been a good idea." You have creative ideas that seem to be successful so far. Like this parents’ night out idea.

MAMDANI: Yeah.

KIMMEL: Explain what that is exactly.

MAMDANI: I think the two most valuable things to parents are time and money, and we wanted to give them back a little bit of that. And so we created a night parents could finally go out to the date they've been putting off, some of them for years, and know they didn't have to shell out for a babysitter.

…

KIMMEL: You seem to be doing a great job in New York but could move to Washington and hang out at the Oval Office all day. Like if you texted him a selfie of us right now—

MAMDANI: Jimmy, I love you, but I love housing more.

KIMMEL: Okay. I’m sure you—listen, I know you're focused on your job right now and the city. Would you come to L.A. and be our mayor after this? We got a lot of potholes.

MAMDANI: You know, it's three works for me, always. It’s New York City.

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