NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, responded defiantly when warned Republicans would use him as a symbol of the Democratic Party's leftward shift — saying 'Let them' and doubling down on his belief that democratic socialists can win elections at any level across America. His comments come after candidates he endorsed swept Democratic primary victories in New York. The framing emphasizes Mamdani's defiance and rising political prominence, though it doesn't explore the substantive policy disagreements between democratic socialists and mainstream Democrats or Republicans' strategic interest in making him a focal point of party divisions.