Socialist Zohran Mamdani front runner to win New York mayor race – much to Donald Trump’s disgust
Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding if a radically different politician becomes mayor of New York.
At 1am last Sunday morning, in Brooklyn’s shabbily uber-cool neighbourhood of Bushwick, a man in a conservative suit and tie got behind the decks at a gay dive bar and the crowd went wild.
It wasn’t the only bar the 34-year-old visited that night. All-in-all, he cropped up at six New York bars during the weekend wee hours and at each he received a raucous reception as he held court among the lasers and glitter balls.
But this wasn’t a big name DJ. This was the man who, come Tuesday, US time, is almost certain to be the mayor of America’s largest city.
Zohran Mamdani, a previously little known New York State politician, has come from seemingly nowhere to now be on the verge of heading the metropolis of 8.5 million people. That’s one third of the entire population of Australia as well as being the financial and cultural capital of the world.
‘100pc lunatic’
He has promised free buses, rent freezes for two million people and city run supermarkets in suburban food deserts. All to be paid for by higher taxes on super rich New Yorkers and cashed up companies.
Donald Trump is not happy. He has blasted Mr Mamdani as a “100 per cent communist lunatic”, has quipped that he is “much better looking” than the candidate and said it would be “hard for me to give a lot of money” to the city if he wins. Mr Trump has even made a surprising move and endorsed Mr Mamdani’s closest rival – who is also a Democrat.
But Mr Mamdani might also be a nightmare for Mr Trump. No Democrat politician has seemingly engaged voters since Trump 2.0 began in January as much as Mr Mamdani. He is doing that by using some of Mr Trump’s tricks – populist policies, trolling rivals (although less harshly) and sassy comebacks.
Mr Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist – definitely not a communist as Mr Trump has insisted he is.
If he wins this election, he will be the first Millennial and the Muslim mayor of New York.
Democrats don’t know what to do
Establishment Democrats, meanwhile, don’t know what to make of Mr Mamdani, a Ugandan born Muslim who became a US citizen in 2018.
In the Trump 2.0 era, the opposition party is torn between those who think Mr Mamdani’s left populist politics is the answer to a right populist White House. Or others who think the party should portray itself as the sensible centre of US politics.
This wasn’t supposed to be an issue for the Democrats. It had been expected current mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, would remain in place and win in 2025. But then he became embroiled in scandal and appeared to cosy up to Mr Trump.
Sensing a vacuum, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo then sought to be the Democrat candidate before being beaten convincingly by Mr Mamdani for the position. Mr Cuomo is now running as an independent.
Mr Mamdani’s luridly coloured posters – that look more like pop art than political – began appearing here and there, in the windows of trendy bars and Brooklyn walk-ups, before exploding everywhere.
His messaging – which has been disseminated in part by harnessing the power of viral TikTok videos – has been simple and focused on affordability.
Trump endorses Cuomo
Mr Trump on Monday, US time, endorsed Mr Cuomo, telling New Yorkers they “must” for him, while threatening to withhold federal funding if Mr Mamdani wins.
“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!” he wrote on Truth Social on the eve of Tuesday’s election.
“It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad. It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win.
The President added he would “much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN, than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE”.
Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”
Critics of Mamdani
Mr Mamdani has critics on both sides of the aisle.
There are concerns his sums don’t add up, that he doesn’t have the support of the police, that high profile businesses and rich New Yorkers could flee the city, and President Trump could send in the National Guard.
They have pointed to previous comments Mr Mamdani has made about “de-funding” the police and his criticism of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – although he has distanced himself from both positions during the campaign.
Mr Mamdani has insisted he can find the money to pay for his ambitions and scoffs at the scare stories.
“I will freeze the rent, I won’t defend the police. I will make buses fast and free, I won’t decriminalise misdemeanours. I will deliver universal childcare, I won’t require everyone to eat halal food,” he told US talk program The Daily Show.
Mr Mamdani has received endorsements from senior Democrats – but they have been glacial in arriving, a clear sign the old guard doesn’t know what to make of him.
And notably Chuck Schumer, a New York senator who is Jewish and also one of the two most powerful Democrats in the country, has failed to endorse him.
Trump endorses the other Democrat, not the Republican
The Republican candidate is well known in the city. Cutis Sliwa founded the Guardian Angels, a community group that patrolled New York’s Subway system when crime on the network was far higher than today.
Ms Sliwa’s trademark is a red beret. But he has been languishing in third place and couldn’t even get the endorsement of Donald Trump.
Instead, in a weekend interview with CBS, the US president plumped for Mr Cuomo.
“I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m going to pick the bad Democrat all the time”.
Mr Mamdani seized on the comment. Within hours had put out a trolling social media directed at Mr Cuomo: “Congratulations, I know how you had worked for this”.
The Cuomo campaign could have done without Mr Trump’s recommendation. Rather, they have said, Mr Cuomo was the only “candidate (that) has a record of standing up to Trump when he tried to hurt New York”.
Mr Cuomo said a win for his rival would give Mr Trump the excuse he wants to take over New York. Mr Trump has threatened to do just that.
“He will be President Trump and Mayor Trump … he’s going to take over New York and send National Guard tanks down Fifth Ave,” Mr Cuomo said.
Mr Trump told CBS the comments from Mr Cuomo were “crazy”.
Indeed, he has said he would have to at least try and engage with a Mayor Mamdani but he doesn’t sound like he will try too hard to meet him halfway.
“It’s going to be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York. Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there”.
Mr Mamdani has brushed the comments aside.
“We will continue to receive funding from the federal government, and it’s not because of President Trump’s generosity, (it’s) because it is the law”.
If Mr Mamdani wins, however, the relationship between New York and DC could be fractious. Progressive New Yorkers who voted for Mr Mamdani might not be happy if he is seen to have chummy chats with the president.
And Mr Trump could well see an easy Democrat target. If crime rises in New York, if the books don’t balance and high profile people leave, it will be easy for him to suggest that could happen to all of the US under the Democrats.
But if Mr Mamdani does well, if he pushes back against Mr Trump’s excesses and if the dire predictions of New York under his leadership do not come to pass, he might just provide a blueprint for how the Democrats can counter MAGA.
Originally published as Socialist Zohran Mamdani front runner to win New York mayor race – much to Donald Trump’s disgust
