Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary in June to become the mayoral candidate for New York City, is on point when he calls himself ‘Donald Trump’s greatest nightmare’. Hailing from the left of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and an ally of Bernie Sanders and Bronx congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Born in 1991 in Kampala, Uganda, to Indian Gujarati Muslim parents, Mamdani certainly holds radical pedigree as the only child of renowned postcolonial theorist Mahmood Mamdani and Mira Nair, an accomplished South Asian filmmaker. When Mamdani was seven, the family moved to Morningside Heights in Brooklyn, New York City.
In adulthood, after a short stint as a successful rapper and film soundtrack producer, Mamdani was elected for three successive terms to the New York State Assembly in Albany, representing Astoria and Long Island City. There, he displayed a dogged commitment and political imagination that put him at the forefront of battles for economic equality and against racism.
With the New York mayoralty in crisis and the November 2025 election looming, Mamdani decided to take a shot. His programme of rent control, free transportation, more affordable housing, taxes on the top one per cent and corporate wealth, subsidized daycare and a low-cost, city-run supermarket in every borough appealed to New Yorkers. In an unexpected landslide, he was elected as the Democratic candidate.
But it wasn’t just his policy ideas that made him popular. Mamdani has proven himself to be quick on his feet in public, and a creative coalition builder with a feel for the rambunctious bluster and tough-minded ‘attitude’ for which New York is famous. He didn’t duck hard questions on the Israeli genocide in Gaza, vowing a staunch fight against antisemitism while reiterating his long held opposition to Israel’s brutal occupation. If mayor, he promises to implement the international arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu should he venture into his jurisdiction.
Usually the Democratic Party nominee is a shoe-in for the New York mayoralty, but this will probably not be the case for Mamdani. His two main opponents, former police chief turned Trump-shill Eric Adams and corruption-tainted former New York State governor Andrew Cuomo, are both promising independent runs to block his ascent. If they manage to unite, it could spell trouble.
In the meantime, the MAGA right has launched an all-out attack against the young insurgent Democrat, portraying him as an antisemite and trying to link him to 9/11. Republican congressman Bob Ogles referred to him as a ‘little Muhammad’ who should have his citizenship yanked away. Trump has said he is considering Ogles's proposal, and refers to Mamdani as a ‘100 per cent communist lunatic’ who will be arrested if he acts against Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
Zohran Mamdani could become mayor of New York and thus a key leader in the US’s growing left populist movement – however, he will need to overcome both the Democrat centrists and Republican rightists determined to get in his way.
