New York, New York - New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani spoke to NBC's Meet the Press about his campaign and vision in a new interview aired Sunday.

Mamdani attributed his electoral success to the strength of the vision his campaign put forward for the city.

"I think ultimately it was the focus on the fact that we live in the most expensive city in the United States of America. It's also the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and yet one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty and the rest are seemingly trapped in a state of anxiety," Mamdani said.

"What we've seen is that this city needs to be affordable for the people that build it every day," he continued. "Our focus was on exactly that, and by keeping that focus on an economic agenda, we showed New Yorkers that this could be more than a museum of what it once was. It could be a living, breathing testament to possibility."

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The 33-year-old state assemblymember triumphed in the first round of New York City's ranked-choice Democratic primary last week. His platform centered on delivering rent freezes, free buses, meaningful minimum wage increases, and city-owned grocery stores to the Big Apple.

In order to fund his progressive agenda, Mamdani has proposed increasing taxes by 2% on the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers.

"I think what we've shown over the last eight months is our ability to take that which is considered a non-starter and make it seem inevitable," the nominee said in response to concerns his proposed tax increase could drive billionaires from New York.

Mamdani was not asked about the crises of gentrification and displacement which are making New York City increasingly unaffordable for those without six-figure-plus salaries.

Mamdani's win last Tuesday unsurprisingly triggered a meltdown from Republican President Donald Trump, who has called him a "pure communist" – a label the nominee rejected in Sunday's interview.

"I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I'm from, who I am – ultimately because he wants to distract from what I'm fighting for," Mamdani insisted.

"I am fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed."

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The self-described democratic socialist has also received a mix from reactions from members of his own party, ranging from enthusiastic support, to non-committal skepticism, to outright hostility.

When asked about some prominent New York Democrats not yet endorsing him for the general election, Mamdani said, "I think that people are catching up to this election. This is an election that went against so much of the analysis that had been told our party and where we needed to head to."

"Ultimately, what we're showing is that by putting working people first – by returning to the roots of the Democratic Party – we actually have a path out of this moment where we're facing authoritarianism in Washington DC," he added.

Mamdani, who has a history of outspoken opposition to the Israel's apartheid and mass killing of Palestinians, was once again asked in Sunday's interview to respond to concerns he is insufficiently supportive of the occupation.

NBC's Kristen Welker repeatedly pressed Mamdani to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada," which is a call for international solidarity with Palestinians resisting Israeli occupation, but which the host said many people "hear as a call for violence against Jews."

"I don't believe the role of the mayor is to police speech in the manner especially of that of Donald Trump, who has put one New Yorker in jail who's just returned to his family – Mahmoud Khalil – for that very supposed crime of speech," Mamdani said, referring to a 30-year-old Palestinian Columbia University student activist targeted for deportation by the Trump administration.

"Ultimately, it's not language that I use. It's language I understand there are concerns about. And what I will do is showcase my vision for this city through my words and my actions."

Mamdani reiterated his commitment to increasing funding for anti-hate crime programming by 800%, in part in response to fears he has heard from Jewish New Yorkers about rising antisemitism.

Earlier in the interview, the mayoral candidate was asked about the anti-Muslim death threats and hate he has faced on the campaign trail.

"It's been difficult to have to deal with the regular and repeated smears and slander upon my name and on the very basis of my faith," he said. "I think what's so sad is that this is but a glimpse into what life is like for many Muslim New Yorkers and many New Yorkers of different faiths who are constantly being told that they don't belong in this city and this country that they love."

He added: "Ultimately, what continues to give me hope is that these moments are but small examples of something that goes against what so many New Yorkers actually feel, because what we know is that this is a city for all of us.

"And what Tuesday night showed is that what New Yorkers want more than anything is a vision that binds us all together."