By: Quinn Hathaway

Media Production Editor 

On Nov. 4, the New York City majority elected Zohran Mamdani as their new mayor, amidst controversy and heated political discussions. Mamdani, 34 years old and previously the Queens assemblymember, is the first person of South Asian descent and the youngest mayor in over a century to head New York City. He is also a Muslim, socialist, and Democrat, all aspects he made a point to highlight during his campaign.

His mayoral opponents were Andrew Cuomo, the previous state’s governor, who ran as an Independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. During campaign season, President Donald Trump openly endorsed Cuomo while blasting Mamdani. Trump posted on X directly following Mamdani’s winning the Democratic primary in June, saying, “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice…He is capable, Mamdani is not!” Trump also slighted Mamdani a multitude of times, calling him “a communist lunatic” and referring to him as “whatever the hell his name is.” Mamdani retaliated against these verbal attacks, promising to “Trump-proof” the city if elected. 

The mayoral election garnered more than two million votes, the highest number of votes in this century. Mamdani won with 50.4% of the votes, with Cuomo taking 41.6% and Sliwa garnering merely 7.1%. Mamdani’s speech following his win continued to echo the themes promoted in his campaign: freeing bus fares for all, freezing stabilized rents, installing universal child care, increasing the minimum wage, and lowering the cost of living by raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and businesses. He projected themes of hope and unity, explaining, “And while we cast our ballots alone, we chose hope together. Hope over tyranny. Hope over big money and small ideas. Hope over despair. We won because New Yorkers allowed themselves to hope that the impossible could be made possible.”

Following Mamdani’s win, Trump was less than receptive and continued to attack New York’s mayor-elect in racist remarks, snide comments about socialism, and antisemitism, reiterating his view that New York City may be on a perennial downward spiral. Despite their media sparring, Trump and Mamdani met on Nov. 21 in the Oval Office and held a surprisingly cordial conversation. The two supposedly connected in the interest of civilly working together in support of New York City, with Trump saying he’s “cheering” for Mamdani and Mamdani saying the meeting was “productive.” Despite several awkward moments, including a reporter asking Mamdani if he still stood by calling Trump a “fascist” and Trump cutting Mamdani off to reply, “That’s OK, you can just say it. It’s easier, it’s easier than explaining it,” the country overall saw the meeting as a success in navigating the pair’s political differences.

Mamdani begins his term on Jan. 1, and the country will be watching to see how this young man will run New York City and live up to his campaign’s promises.

(Sources: BBC, CBS, NBC, NPR, NY Times)