Steve Kornacki: Divided opposition is 'sustaining Mamdani' in NYC mayoral race

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today's edition, Ben Kamisar breaks down the split among prominent New York Democrats on Zohran Mamdani, seven weeks out from the mayoral election. Plus, Andrea Mitchell examines how Britain laid out the red carpet (and more) for President Donald Trump.

-- Adam Wollner

Zohran Mamdani scored endorsements this week from key members of the New York Democratic establishment in his bid for mayor, but he's still waiting on two of the biggest names from his city.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced their support for Mamdani in recent days, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries -- both New York Democrats -- are continuing to keep some distance from the democratic socialist.

The split shows how the Democratic Party's leaders haven't fully settled on how much to embrace the energy bubbling up among progressives in New York City and elsewhere, after Mamdani scored an upset victory in the June primary.

Mamdani's newfound backers have in part framed their support as a sign of the party coming together. In a New York Times op-ed, Hochul wrote that while she's had "frank conversations" and "disagreements" with Mamdani, she believes he is focused on the key issues that matter to New York City residents.

As he endorsed Mamdani today, Heastie cast him as an optimist promising a better direction for New York City.

"I do think this city is clamoring for something new and different," Heastie said. "He has a romantic view of what this city can be and should be. And sometimes people want to be romanced."

Meanwhile, the lack of support from Schumer and Jeffries for Mamdani has rankled some progressives. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland blasted the non-endorsements during a recent address to Iowa Democrats, leading Jeffries' spokesperson Justin Chermol to tell The New York Times that "confused New Yorkers are asking themselves the question: Chris Van Who?"

Schumer told reporters yesterday that he met with Mamdani last week for a "good conversation." And Jeffries downplayed any potential concerns from the left. "I haven't had a conversation with any member of Congress who's expressed frustration to me as it relates to the New York City mayoral race," he told reporters.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told NBC News in an interview that the lack of an endorsement from Democratic leadership is "a little perplexing."

"Look, it is hard for me to understand how the Democratic leadership is not supporting the candidate who won the Democratic primary, or the candidate who has gotten 50, 60,000 people volunteering for his campaign, has created enormous excitement, gotten new people to register to vote. How do you not support that candidate?" Sanders said.

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In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination, President Donald Trump and his allies have threatened to bring the weight of the federal government against what they refer to as the "radical left."

But the suggestion that a secret network of violent left-wing extremists was behind the killing stands in contrast to the evidence that law enforcement officials presented on Tuesday in Utah, where Kirk was fatally shot. There was no indication presented that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was a member of a group or that he fell under the sway of a particular leader. The investigation is ongoing.

Experts told NBC News that the Trump administration appears to be using Kirk's assassination as an excuse to crack down on left-wing individuals and groups. While administration officials have yet to detail their plans, statements by Miller and others raise questions of who exactly would be targeted, how, and what effect this might have in stifling political dissent.

In a relationship strained by tariffs, the war in Ukraine and starvation in Gaza, America's British cousins rolled out more than just a red carpet.

President Donald Trump's second state visit, a special honor rarely, if ever, accorded a foreign leader, began with a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, a military parade and a "flypast," as the Brits call an Air Force "flyover." During a tour of Windsor's historic artifacts, a clearly awestruck president declared, "That's the real deal."

The palace laid out a white-tie state dinner on a table more than 51 yards long decorated with 139 candles, 1,452 pieces of cutlery and five crystal glasses at each setting. The president could be forgiven for occasionally breaking protocol by patting King Charles on his back and walking in front of the monarch while reviewing the troops, as he did with Queen Elizabeth in 2019. He also told Princess Kate on their first greeting, "You're beautiful, so beautiful."

The serious business of the visit is business. The pomp and circumstance was aimed at softening up Trump to improve the U.K.'s tariff deal with the U.S. Invitees to the lavish dinner included the CEOs of BlackRock, Apple, Nvidia, the Blackstone Group, Bank of America and OpenAI.

What Great Britain can offer that few other countries can is the royal touch. That's especially important with a prime minister, Keir Starmer, who is adept at flattery but less in line with Trump's politics than Nigel Farage, leader of the rival Reform UK party.

The Windsor grounds were also a relatively safe space for a visit uninterrupted by thousands of anti-Trump demonstrators in London, except for the projection of Trump-Epstein images on the castle walls on the eve of the president's arrival.

It's a high bar for other trading partners planning their own state visits for Trump. One such competitor is China's Xi Jinping, next in line for a possible Trump visit. The two are planning a call on Friday when an invitation to Beijing is expected to be proffered and quickly accepted. That worries some foreign policy experts, including a former U.S. national security adviser and prominent foreign diplomat. They note that Xi can parade even more military might than Great Britain. Who knows what economic benefits could result.

That's all From the Politics Desk for now. Today's newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman.

If you have feedback -- likes or dislikes -- email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

Democrats are still figuring out how to handle Zohran Mamdani: From the Politics Desk