Mamdani Now Leading Dems? Kamala Harris’ Bombshell Outreach Stuns Team Trump

The race for the White House may still be years away, but behind closed doors the battle for the Democratic Party's future is already intensifying. Former Vice President Kamala Harris is quietly rebuilding bridges with the party's progressive wing, holding private conversations with influential left-wing leaders, pro-Palestinian activists and rising Democratic figures. According to Axios, the outreach is widely seen as an effort to strengthen her standing ahead of a possible 2028 presidential bid after her 2024 election defeat. According to Axios, Harris personally called New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani last Thursday to discuss the future direction of the Democratic Party, with both sides planning a longer follow-up conversation. The call came just two days after candidates backed by Mamdani swept three congressional races in New York City, defeating two incumbent Democrats. Axios reported that Harris and Mamdani have also exchanged text messages intermittently over the past several months. The outreach extends well beyond New York. Axios reported that Harris has held private meetings with several prominent progressive figures, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whom she met during the Power Rising conference in Chicago earlier this year. She has also quietly reached out to activists associated with the pro-Palestinian Uncommitted Movement, which emerged in protest against former President Joe Biden's handling of the Gaza War. Last week in Detroit, Harris met Abbas Alawiyah, co-founder of the Uncommitted Movement and now a Democratic candidate for the Michigan State Senate. Alawiyah told Axios that Harris requested the meeting after months of private conversations. During their discussion, he reiterated that American taxpayer money should never be used to target civilians or destroy entire communities, and spoke about families in his community who had lost relatives in Israeli airstrikes supported by the United States. Axios also reported that Harris recently spoke with longtime Democratic National Committee member James Zogby, a prominent advocate for Palestinian rights. Neither Harris's office nor representatives for Mamdani or Zogby commented publicly on the conversations. Beyond the Middle East, Harris has reportedly been consulting former aides and Democratic leaders on issues ranging from China and artificial intelligence to Venezuela, broadening her policy engagement ahead of a potential national campaign. The renewed outreach follows criticism from many progressives who believed Harris failed to distance herself enough from Biden's strong support for Israel during the 2024 election. In her 2025 memoir, 107 Days, Harris revealed she privately urged Biden to show greater empathy towards Palestinian civilians, writing that while Biden openly declared himself a Zionist, his comments about Palestinian casualties often appeared inadequate and forced. She also acknowledged frustration with pro-Palestinian protesters who interrupted her campaign events, while arguing the issue was far more complex than many portrayed. Democratic strategist Patrick Gaspard defended Harris, saying she consistently sought perspectives beyond the traditional foreign policy establishment and had long expressed concerns about the administration's messaging on Gaza. Although Harris remains among the leading names in early polls for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, Axios noted that Harris faces doubts from progressives, moderates, and major donors alike. Her political record continues to divide opinion after shifting from a progressive platform during the 2020 primary to a more moderate stance in 2024. Even so, Harris continues to enjoy strong popularity across many Democratic strongholds, particularly in the South, ensuring she remains a formidable contender if she ultimately enters the race. A new viral clip is putting Kamala Harris back in the spotlight, and not for the reasons she may have hoped. During a podcast interview with Don Lemon, Harris was asked a simple question about hope. Within hours, social media exploded. Critics branded it a word salad. Harris said, and I quote, And in particular, at this moment, it is so important that we not only have hope, but that we understand that that should be a verb. Kamala Harris's remarks sent social media into a frenzy, with several users slamming the former vice president. One ex-user wrote, Another user wrote, and I quote, An ex-user minced no words in attacking Donald Trump's 2024 election opponent, saying, Recently, Kamala Harris slammed Trump over the Iran war, saying she would absolutely not have started a war if she had been the president. News never stops. The world keeps turning, and every turn tells a story. Wars, elections, geopolitics, Davids versus Goliaths. While everyone is celebrating the US-China trade talk, Trump has been quietly doing something else across Asia. We're once home to the ancient Silk Road connecting East and West. But who's connecting the dots? Who's decoding the global storm? Welcome to Times of India videos. We decode the shifting grains of geopolitics to you. From Washington to Wuhan. Everything, everywhere, all at once. Just two years ago, Canada was one of the most popular countries for Indian students. From Davos to Delhi, we track the decisions that move markets, shift policies, and shape the future. 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