New York City Mayoral Election: Victory for Trump's Nightmare

Left-wing candidate and former New York Assembly member Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral election New York, making him the first Muslim and the first politician of African origin to hold that position.

His victory was followed by sharp reactions from the former US president Donald Trump, who during the campaign openly urged voters to vote against him and threatened to "kill the federal budget for New York" if Mamdani won.

Trump is on his network. Social Truth called Mamdani, 34, a "communist" and a "Jew hater," adding that "any Jewish New Yorker who votes for him is a stupid person."

In an announcement that caused stormy reactions among Republicans as well, Trump wrote that his administration would not give New York more than the legal minimum aid if a "communist candidate" took over the city.

Who is Zohran Mamdani?

Mamdani, born in 1991 in Uganda in a family of intellectuals of Indian origin. His mother Mira Nejr is a famous director and his father Mahmoud Mamdani is a scientist. The family moved briefly from Uganda to South Africa when Zohran was five, before settling in New York two years later. He described his upbringing as "privileged," but admits his experience was not typical of the city.

He became an American citizen only in 2018. Although Trump's supporters during the campaign accused him of obtaining the passport illegally and even called for his "deportation", Mamdani managed to mobilize a large number of young voters and volunteers through a strong online campaign.

His platform, focused on social justice, housing, health care and climate policy, has attracted support from the left of the Democratic Party and independent politicians, including Bernie Sanders. The Democratic establishment, however, viewed him with caution, fearing a further shift of the party to the left.

Democratic socialist

Thanks in part to his earlier work helping the poor avoid eviction, affordable housing became the backbone of his campaign.

In the metropolis with the world's most expensive rents — where the average three-bedroom apartment costs $8.500 a month (about 7.350 euros) — his calls to freeze rents in rent-regulated apartments, build more affordable housing and tighten controls on private landlords have been met with approval.

His membership in the Democratic Socialists of America further confirms his beliefs. He advocates a flat tax of 2 percent on incomes over $1 million a year, an increase in corporate taxes, the introduction of free city bus transportation, a minimum wage of $30 an hour (instead of the current $16,50) and the expansion of public child care.

During the campaign, Mamdani came under fire for his views on the war in Gaza - most notably for calling Israel's actions "genocide". After harsh condemnations, he reiterated that he recognizes Israel's right to exist and emphasized that "there is no place for anti-Semitism."

In New York, a city home to about 1,3 million Jews - the largest urban Jewish community outside of Israel - the issue was among the key issues during the election race.

According to analysts, with the victory of Zohran Mamdani, New York got a mayor who symbolizes the new generation of American leftists - digitally literate, cosmopolitan and socially engaged.

For Donald Trump and his movement Make America Great Again, however, Mamdani is - as some right-wing commentators put it - a "nightmare mayor".