Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old former state assemblyman from Queens and self-described democratic socialist, is New York City’s first Muslim mayor and the youngest in over a century.
Mamdani entered the 2025 mayoral race as an unknown with little money and no institutional support, running on a progressive platform to make the city more affordable. He won the Nov. 4 mayoral election with over 50% of the vote in the biggest turnout since the 1960s, defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Since being sworn in on Jan. 1, 2026, Mamdani has already signed several executive orders to confront the city’s housing crisis and announced a free childcare program for 2-year-olds.
President Trump praised the new mayor after meeting him at the White House in November, pledging they would work together to lower the cost of living in the city.
What is democratic socialism, and what does it mean to Mamdani?
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that does not have a singular definition, but broadly supports policies that benefit the public over private corporations.
In the United States, its supporters generally align with progressive Democratic values such as strong social safety nets, affordable housing, and raising the minimum wage. Some prominent democratic socialists include Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
Mamdani says his view of democratic socialism is inspired by a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country.”
How will Mamdani make New York City more affordable?
Mamdani’s ideas to lower the cost of living in the city include stabilized rents, free bus services, universal childcare, a city-owned grocery store in each borough, a higher minimum wage by 2030, and increased taxes for big corporations and the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers.
On his first day in office, he signed three executive orders reviving the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and establishing task forces to accelerate affordable housing construction.
On Jan. 8, he announced plans with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to expand affordable childcare and fund a new 2-Care program, which would provide free childcare for two-year-olds in “high-need areas” starting fall 2026, with the hopes of expanding citywide.
Their plan would also increase funding for free pre-K programs and widen eligibility for tens of thousands of New York families, who face the highest childcare costs in the nation.
How does Trump feel about Mamdani?
Trump criticized Mamdani before his win and endorsed former Gov. Cuomo for Mayor, threatening to pull federal funding from New York if Mamdani were elected.
He falsely characterized Mamdani as a communist and suggested he was living in the country illegally. Mamdami is a naturalized citizen who immigrated with his family from Uganda to New York City when he was seven.
But Trump seemingly changed his mind after the two of them met in the White House on Nov. 21, saying he would “absolutely” live in New York City with Mamdani as Mayor and that he wants to “help him do a great job.”
Trump said Mamdani’s views might “surprise some conservative people” and that they “agreed on a lot more” than he would have thought: “He wants to see no crime. He wants to see housing being built. He wants to see rents coming down, all things that I agree with.”
Mamdani, who previously criticized Trump in his acceptance speech, said he appreciated their meeting and that he is looking forward to working with him on their “shared purpose” of serving New Yorkers.
How do Asian Americans feel about Mamdani?
Mamdani has significant bipartisan support from New York City’s Asian Americans, including many first-time voters and those who previously voted for Trump. New York’s Asian voters showed the strongest support for Mamdani among any racial group, an NBC poll found.
Nearly half of the voters surveyed in the Asian American Exit Poll cast ballots for Mamdani, citing the economy and jobs as the top issue influencing their decision. One in five (20%) of those voters cast ballots for Trump in 2024.
10% of those surveyed said they were first-time voters. Among voters aged 18 to 29, who are historically the least likely to vote within the community, that number doubled to 20%.