When Zohran Mamdani was announced victorious<\/a>, the crowd erupted with cheers. A chant of “Tax the rich” rang out in triumph.<\/p>\n Supporters at an election night watch party for Zohran Mamdani. (Reuters)<\/p>\n The fringe group has now seized one of America’s major electoral prizes: control of the biggest and richest city in the country.<\/p>\n The home of Wall Street and the financial capital of the world is now ruled by a self-declared Democratic socialist.<\/p>\n Mamdani campaigned on what amounts to a program of major wealth redistribution. He has promised to increase taxes on the rich to spread the money across New York City’s five boroughs and fund a range of public programs, including free buses, free childcare and getting government into the business of groceries.<\/p>\n NYC result delivers 34yo ‘socialist’ a stunning win<\/a><\/p>\n New Yorkers shake the United States’s political establishment and deliver Zohran Mamdani a stunning victory in the city’s contentious mayoral election.<\/p>\n In a year, Mamdani has gone from a little-known state assemblyman to one of the most recognisable national public figures.<\/p>\n Although it was fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo<\/a> \u2014 who ran as an independent \u2014 whom Mamdani beat, it was Donald Trump whom he perhaps most effectively campaigned against.<\/p>\n The US president took an active interest in the campaign. He was born and raised in the borough of Queens and seemed to be personally affronted that a socialist would potentially soon run the city he used to call home.<\/p>\n Trump threatened to cut federal funding to the city<\/a> if it elected the man he referred to as a “communist”.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n He had tried a similar tactic with Argentina<\/a>, and he may have decided it helped his friend President Javier Milei gain an advantage<\/a>.<\/p>\n But it is likely Trump’s threats went down badly in the Big Apple, a place where he has for a long time been political poison.<\/p>\n His endorsement of Cuomo may have helped with the people choosing between him and the actual Republican candidate in the race, Curtis Sliwa, but it does not appear to have shifted many Democrats’ minds.<\/p>\n Despite declining popularity, Trump’s MAGA base stays strong<\/p>\n Recent polling suggests Trump is becoming increasingly unpopular<\/a>, and the prolonged government shutdown is biting politically.<\/p>\n But the US president’s control over his MAGA base remains intact, and he retains some major political strengths.<\/p>\n Despite the brutality of his immigration crackdown campaign, polling suggests many Americans support the dramatic changes he has made to border security<\/a>.<\/p>\n As we head into the crucial midterms next year, you can be sure that Republicans will be forcing their Democratic competitors to declare where they stand on the issue of migration.<\/p>\n Read more on this story:<\/p>\n While Mamdani’s pro-immigration position might work in Manhattan, it is likely to be far less popular in border states or the Midwest.<\/p>\n Trump reportedly thought his campaigning on the border helped him win in 2016<\/a>, and doubled down on the immigration issue last year, too.<\/p>\n Now he potentially sees law and order as another big electoral boon.<\/p>\n This is why we are likely to see increasing use of the US military on American streets over the coming year, if the courts allow it<\/a>. He will want immigration and law and order to be front of minds the next time voters take to the polls, not the cost of living.<\/p>\n Loading…Mamdani to Trump: ‘Turn the volume up’<\/p>\n Trump knows his political legacy and potentially his own liberty will be at stake next November when Americans decide which party should control the two houses of Congress. If Democrats take back control, you would confidently bet that once again, impeachment proceedings will be on the agenda.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n