![\"Rama](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/45SLFSRRDJDTJIQF7IP4TV6BZE.jpg\")
The Daily Beast\/Getty <\/p>\nWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has lashed out at the wife of New York City\u2019s new mayor for the boots she wore at the Socialist Democrat\u2019s swearing-in ceremony.<\/p>\n
One day after Zohran Mamdani was inaugurated, promising to make life more affordable in America\u2019s most populous city, Leavitt took aim at the fashion choices of his 28-year-old wife, Rama Duwaji, to accuse the couple of hypocrisy.<\/p>\n
The Daily Beast\/Getty <\/p>\n
The rebuke came in response to New York\u2019s First Lady wearing a pair of borrowed $630 Miista boots as she stood alongside her husband while he took the oath of office at a disused subway station on Thursday, using a Quran. <\/p>\n
She also wore a pair of black knee-length shorts and a dark Balenciaga wool coat – all of which, according to her stylist, had also been borrowed or loaned.<\/p>\n
![\"Leavitt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GEWKPLEOMFE6JNTCFXBFHOAUSU.jpg\")
Leavitt hit out at Mamdani and his wife in an Instagram post. Instagram <\/p>\n
But Leavitt, who is known to wear designer Jimmy Choo shoes and luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, wrote on her Instagram on Friday: \u201cThey want New Yorkers to hand over more than half their income to the government – while she wears designer boots worth your weekly paycheck.<\/p>\n
\u201cClassic Communists – rules for you, but not for them. There are reasons Communism has failed everywhere it\u2019s been tried. Good luck, New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attack was a reference to the highly ambitious affordability agenda Mamdani campaigned on in last year\u2019s mayoral race, where he defeated Trump-backed candidate and former Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo.<\/p>\n
![\"Independent](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6DTUT3DRVFFZVL5ZU6LCWHT7QQ.jpg\")
Independent mayoral candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks to the press after voting at a polling location at the High School of Art and Design in the Manhattan borough of New York City on November 4, 2025. Timothy Clary\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Promises include universal childcare for children from 6 weeks to 5 years old; freezing the rent for roughly two million rent-stabilized tenants; making buses \u201cfast and free\u201d; and creating five city-controlled supermarkets to offer groceries at lower prices.<\/p>\n
Mamdani has not said New Yorkers will be forced to \u201chand over half their income,\u201d contrary to Leavitt\u2019s claim, but has suggested paying for his multi-billion-dollar promises by taxing wealthy residents and raising the city\u2019s corporate tax rate.<\/p>\n
![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IEZCMEI6M5GHHECWRCJPWDVYSY.jpg\")
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 01: New York City Mayor Zoharn Mamdani and Rama Duwaji salute the public following a ceremonial inauguration at City Hall on January 1,2026 in New York City. Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, built his platform on promises to reduce the cost of living for average New Yorkers while taxing the wealthy. John Lamparski\/John Lamparski\/Getty Images <\/p>\n
\u201cI was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist,\u201d he told the crowd at his Inauguration on Thursday. \u201cI will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Mamdani was sworn in as New York City\u2019s 112th mayor in the former City Hall subway station, making him the first Muslim and South Asian person to serve as mayor and the youngest mayor in over a century.<\/p>\n
While it was a momentous occasion for the city, Duwaji\u2019s boots also caused a stir online, and not just from the White House.<\/p>\n
The stylish boots featured a low, sculpted block heel and a decorative vertical lace-up design up the back. <\/p>\n
But not everyone on social media was impressed, with one X user declaring: \u201cMamdani\u2019s \u2018affordability agenda\u2019 is a scam. His wife parades in $600 Miista boots while he pushes rent freezes that\u2019ll collapse housing stock. They\u2019re moving into Gracie Mansion to dodge the chaos their policies create.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Mayor\u2019s office for comment. <\/p>\n