dailyloe.com – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the U.S. war with Iran on Wednesday. He said the conflict has inflated costs in a city already facing a severe crisis. Mamdani made these remarks in an interview with NBC News’s ‘Meet the Press’. The interview clip was released on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
The mayor argued the war should be opposed on economic grounds. He pointed to the billions of dollars already spent on the military operation. Mamdani said that money could be spent on working-class Americans instead. The war began as a joint U.S. and Israel operation in late February.
Mamdani stated the war has exacerbated a pre-existing cost of living crisis. He noted this crisis existed before he was running for mayor. It is reflected in New York City being the most expensive in America. Washington has spent an estimated $28 billion on the Iran war so far.
The mayor referenced a lyric from the late rapper Tupac Shakur. He told moderator Kristen Welker the words remain prescient. Mamdani quoted, ‘we always have money for war and not to feed the poor.’ The war has become deeply unpopular among the American public.
A recent CBS News/YouGov poll captured this sentiment. Almost 60% of Americans said the war is going badly for the U.S. This poll was conducted before U.S.-Iran negotiations collapsed in Pakistan. The war led Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz.
That closure sent global oil prices soaring. It has also led to rising costs of gas across the United States. In Washington, lawmakers failed to pass a measure on Thursday. The measure would have required the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran.
The vote failed mostly along party lines. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump recently dismissed calls to expand day care subsidies. He made these comments at a private White House Easter luncheon earlier this month. Trump said the government has to pay for the military instead.
‘It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things,’ Trump said. He addressed attendees at the private luncheon. The mayor’s criticism links federal war spending to local economic hardship. He frames it as a choice between military action and domestic welfare.[]
Source: NBC News
