Zohran Mamdani, a proud socialist and Democratic nominee, tried to dismiss former President Barack Obama’s refusal to endorse him over the weekend, only one day before one of the most-watched contests in the country.

“I appreciated the call with President Obama and his support for the movement that we have created. I appreciated his words. I appreciated his time, and I appreciate this movement for putting us on the brink of delivering us a new city in this place,” Mamdani told reporters in City Hall Park.

The former president was campaigning for Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey, over the weekend, but he didn’t go to New York City to stand next to Mamdani.

Obama and Mamdani talked on the phone instead, but not much has come out about what they talked about.

The Mamdani campaign tried to imply that the former president shouldn’t have endorsed anyone in the mayoral race, but Obama has done it before, including when he backed Bill de Blasio in 2013.

Mamdani has had a hard time getting people from the moderate wing of the party to work together since he won the Democratic primary in June.

It took months for Kathy Hochul, the governor, and Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, to support his run for City Hall.

Jeffries even remarked over the weekend that he didn’t think Mamdani and far-left politics were the future of the Democratic Party.