With his victory, Mamdani will become the city’s first Muslim
mayor, the first of South Asian heritage, the first born in
Africa and the youngest in more than a century.
New York’s incoming administration faces formidable obstacles,
not least from Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to
withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani took office.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president, who also
hails from Queens, wrote that if Mamdani won the mayoral
election, “it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal
Funds, other than the very minimum as required” to New York
City. He often labels the democratic socialist a “communist”.
New York City’s budget for fiscal year 2026 includes approximately
$7.4bn in federal funding, accounting for 6.4% of total spending,
according to a 2025 analysis from the state comptroller.
On election day, Trump escalated his attacks, writing on Truth
Social that “any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani ,
a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person”,
despite Mamdani’s repeated condemnations of antisemitism.
The campaign was marked by a massive wave of Islamophobic
attacks from Democrats, Republicans and conservative
commentators. Florida congressman Randy Fine and Tennessee
congressman Andy Ogles, both Republicans, urged the justice
department to denaturalize and deport Mamdani, who became
a US citizen in 2018, and in late October, Cuomo laughed on a
radio show when host Sid Rosenberg suggested that Mamdani
“would be cheering” if another 9/11 attack occurred, with Cuomo
responding in agreement. Later, standing next to outgoing mayor
Eric Adams, Cuomo nodded as Adams warned : “New York can’t be
Europe, folks. You see what’s playing out in other countries because
of Islamic extremism.”
Republican congressman Chip Roy of Texas also published an op-ed
ahead of the election warning about the “Islamic cultural
revolution” behind Mamdani, calling him “the poster child for
the modern Democrat party”.
A November report from the Center for the Study of Organized
Hate found that Islamophobic posts about Mamdani on X increased
by more than 450% from September to October, with nearly 36,000
posts from over 17,000 unique accounts collectively receiving 7.37m
likes, and 72% of posts involved “terrorist labeling”.
The mayor-elect acknowledged some of the significant challenges
ahead, including navigating city hall bureaucracy and working
under a hostile Trump administration. But Mamdani said he’s
convinced in his ability to deliver on his campaign promises.
“I’m confident in delivering these same policies that we ran
on for the last year,” he said, adding that he aims to unite
New Yorkers across political divides. “No matter what your
politics, we’re all facing the same issues.”
Mamdani campaigned on an unapologetically progressive
platform including a rent freeze for stabilized apartments,
free bus service, universal childcare and city-run grocery
stores, all funded by increased taxes on corporations and
the wealthy. His campaign raised more than $20m from
small donors, breaking fundraising records with an average
contribution of approximately $80.
His victory also came on a night of scorching wins for
Democrats nationally. In gubernatorial races, Democrats
Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger won in New Jersey
and Virginia, respectively, both as former moderate
Democratic members of Congress running on their national
security backgrounds.
California voters also approved Proposition 50, Gavin
Newsom’s redistricting measure designed to make five
Republican-held congressional seats more favorable to Democrats
in next year’s midterm elections. And in Somerville, Massachusetts
– home to Tufts University – voters approved Question 3 ,
a non-binding measure calling on city leaders to end business
with companies that “engage in business that sustains Israel’s
apartheid, genocide and illegal occupation of Palestine”, by 55%.
The incoming New York administration said it would begin
announcing deputy mayors and agency commissioners in the
coming days. Mamdani said that “some of these people will
have familiar names, others will not” but that these officials
would be united by their “commitment to solving old problems
with new solutions”.
“On 1 January, when our city celebrates the inauguration of a new
administration, let us also celebrate a new era for our city,”
Mamdani said, “one that we all feel invested in and whose success
we all work to achieve.”
