Zohran Mamdani is set to take on what\u2019s considered the second-hardest job in the US: running New York City. His biggest challenge will be dealing with the man with the tougher job, President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Mamdani, 34,\u00a0pulled off a historic win<\/a>\u00a0in New York\u2019s mayoral race with a slew of promises aimed at making life more affordable for residents. The democratic socialist received more than 50% of votes, while former Governor Andrew Cuomo \u2014 who ran as an independent \u2014 got just over 40%. Republican Curtis Sliwa managed about 7%.<\/p>\n For Mamdani to keep his campaign promises, he\u2019ll require more money from the federal government \u2014 which provided\u00a0over $7 billion in revenue<\/a>\u00a0for the city\u2019s budget this year. But Trump has already derided him as a \u201ccommunist lunatic\u201d and made clear that he\u2019ll squeeze access to funds.<\/p>\n The mayor-elect was defiant in his victory speech. \u201cIf anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,\u201d Mamdani told supporters. \u201cAnd if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans are already positioning Mamdani as their foil, labeling him and his proposals as representative of the Democratic Party, as they prepare for mid-term congressional elections next year.<\/p>\n House Speaker Mike Johnson, posting on X<\/a> after the New York City election, said the consequences of the Mamdani victory \u201cwill be felt across our entire country\u201d as it \u201ccements the Democrat Party\u2019s transformation to a radical, big-government socialist party.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson was making the comments even as moderate Democrats won elsewhere on Tuesday night. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer, easily took the Virginia governor\u2019s race. Mikie Sherrill, a Navy veteran and ex-prosecutor, triumphed in New Jersey.<\/p>\n California Governor Gavin Newsom also won a significant victory when his state\u2019s voters approved Proposition 50, allowing a redrawing of congressional maps to favor Democrats before the 2026 midterms. that could potentially thwart Trump\u2019s plan to keep control of the house.<\/p>\n Trump-Proofing<\/p>\n Trump has already shown he\u2019s prepared to use federal money as a lever against Democrats.<\/p>\n One day into the government shutdown, the White House halted $18 billion in New York infrastructure funding citing concerns over diversity and inclusion practices. The move threatens a key source of funding for critical improvements to the region\u2019s ageing transit systems, including the extension of the Second Avenue Subway<\/a> and the Hudson River tunnel project.<\/p>\n Apart from getting into potential fights with the Trump administration over funding for health care and food programs, Mamdani is also primed for a clash over the president\u2019s deportation campaign.<\/p>\n Mamdani has pledged to strengthen New York\u2019s sanctuary city status, which limits the local government\u2019s cooperation with federal agencies over immigration enforcement. And in a section titled\u00a0\u201cTrump-Proofing NYC\u201d<\/a>\u00a0on his campaign website, his platform calls for investing $165 million in funding for immigration legal defense services.<\/p>\n The mayor-elect said on Wednesday that his call to \u201cTrump-proof\u201d New York is about protecting the city\u2019s most vulnerable residents from the policies of a president he views as hostile to their interests.<\/p>\n While he pledged to challenge Trump\u2019s actions, Mamdani said his focus would remain on leading a city united around its people, not on engaging in a personal feud with the president.<\/p>\n Trump, for his part, made several disparaging comments about Mamdani on Wednesday at the America Business Forum in Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Democrats are so extreme that Miami will soon be the refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a subsequent interview with Fox<\/a> News, Trump said he was torn between his desire for New York to succeed and his hope Mamdani would provide a useful political foil. He said the mayor-elect was \u201coff to a bad start\u201d with his defiant victory speech and should \u201cbe nice\u201d in order to succeed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the one that sort of has to approve a lot of things coming to him,\u201d Trump said. Asked if he would look to engage Mamdani, Trump said he thought \u201cthat it would be more appropriate for him to reach out to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic Tensions<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just Republican antagonists that Mamdani will have to contend with. The Democratic establishment is still skeptical about the Queens assemblyman, who has limited political work experience beyond his four years\u00a0in the New York state legislature. The rapid rise of Mamdani \u2014 whose career included a stint as a rapper before his time in Albany \u2014 has caught the party\u2019s old guard by surprise.<\/p>\n Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul waited for months to endorse him in the mayoral race, and has said she won\u2019t approve tax hikes that the new mayor will need to fund his agenda. Senator Chuck Schumer, doyen of the party\u2019s establishment wing and one of the country\u2019s most-prominent Jewish politicians, never publicly backed Mamdani.<\/p>\n In October 2023, Mamdani was arrested outside Schumer\u2019s Brooklyn home, protesting Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza just days after Hamas attacked the Jewish state.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Schumer said he spoke with Mamdani and congratulated him on running a \u201cvery, very good campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m moving forward,\u201d said Schumer, who did not endorse Mamdani.<\/p>\n Wall Street billionaires and business leaders including Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb had also framed Mamdani\u2019s policy proposals as a threat to New York\u2019s financial health. Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, endorsed Cuomo in the primary and general election and has contributed to PACs supporting his candidacy.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York is on the verge of making a monumental mistake,\u201d Home Depot<\/a> Inc. co-founder Ken Langone said before the election, referring to the prospect of a Mamdani win. He compared the candidate\u2019s policies to those that led to economic turmoil in Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina, adding that \u201ccapitalism works.\u201d<\/p>\n But some on Wall Street are now adapting to the new reality. Ackman congratulated Mamdani after the election, telling the mayor-elect to \u201clet me know what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n That Mamdani was able to win decisively shows the power of his appeal, and how much his charisma, social media savvy and messaging on affordability resonated with voters.<\/p>\n When he\u2019s sworn in as New York City\u2019s 111th mayor on Jan. 1, 2026, he will be the youngest person to hold the office in a century. He will also be its first Muslim leader and the first person of South Asian descent to hold the office in the city\u2019s 400-year history. Mamdani only became a naturalized US citizen in 2018.<\/p>\n Lauren Klein, a Mamdani voter who works in art conservation and lives in Long Island City, said now that Mamdani is elected, she wants \u201cmore affordable housing, and an effective leader.\u201d Another supporter, Jonathan Neer, said that he trusts Mamdani \u201cto make a conscious effort.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhether or not he will be a good mayor, I don\u2019t know. But I trust him to try,\u201d Neer said before stepping inside a Fort Greene bar in Brooklyn to watch Mamdani\u2019s victory speech after Tuesday\u2019s election.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s Promises<\/p>\n Mamdani has vowed to immediately start working to implement his campaign promises. Freeze rents in rent-stabilized apartments; provide free bus services; create a universal, free childcare program for children ages 6 months to 5 years; open five city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough \u2014 to name just a few.<\/p>\n Evan Roth Smith, a Democratic pollster and political consultant at Slingshot Strategies, said Mamdani\u2019s narrow majority could help him in his appeal for more funding to make those pledges a reality.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he goes to Albany, when he goes to the federal government, he can say \u2018I do have the majority of New Yorkers behind me when I asked for this,\u2019\u201d Roth Smith said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to have a tougher argument because it wasn\u2019t 60% or 55%, it was 50 points and a hair,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n And Mamdani\u2019s promised rent freeze faces multiple hurdles \u2014 including the possibility that outgoing Mayor Eric Adams\u00a0will stack<\/a>\u00a0the Rent Guidelines Board with his own appointees who won\u2019t go along with a freeze.<\/p>\n All that means Mamdani risks disappointing his base of progressive voters if he isn\u2019t able to fulfill his pledges once the euphoria over his win fades.<\/p>\n