Mamdani Wins New York Mayoral Race: A Slap to Trump or a Turning Point for America?

The victory of the young, revolutionary Muslim, Zohran Mamdani, as mayor of New York was not the only blow to U.S. President Donald Trump, who had devoted his time, his party’s machinery, the MAGA lobby, the media, and vast resources to defeating him. Trump faced several other setbacks with the victories of another Muslim candidate and multiple Democrats, prompting the media to call the outcome “a defeat for Trump.”

New York’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said his win carries a decisive message: it shows the way to defeat Trump, meaning it challenges the dominance of money and influence that defines Trump’s era in favor of empowering workers, the homeless, and the poor in America.

In his victory speech, Mamdani emphasized a clear message: “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”

He added that his victory carries a broader message about political balance: If there’s a city that can show a nation divided under Trump how to overcome that division, it’s New York.

In essence, New York, the city that once helped elevate Trump to the presidency, is now bringing him down through the triumph of his opponents, which explains his defensive remark that his name wasn’t on the ballot, and therefore, he wasn’t officially defeated.

Not Just Mamdani!

The victory of Zohran Mamdani as the 111th mayor of New York, often called the unofficial capital of the pro-”Israel” lobby in America, was not the only blow to President Donald Trump and his far-right Christian nationalist MAGA movement. Mamdani, the first Muslim and the first immigrant to lead what many call the most Jewish city in the world and a global center of finance, made history with his win.

Another Muslim Democrat, Ghazala Hashmi, also made history by becoming the first Muslim to serve as lieutenant governor of Virginia. She took the position from the Republicans in a state that is usually seen as a barometer of national political trends.

Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race with more than 58 percent of the vote, defeating her Republican opponent Winsome Earle Sears and becoming the first woman in the state’s history to hold that office.

In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill secured a strong victory with 56 percent of the vote against Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli.

Several Democratic mayors also achieved success in the 2025 elections. Among them was Caroline Simmons, who was reelected mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, according to The Stamford Advocate on November 4, 2025.

Observers believe that the Democratic Party’s victories, particularly Mamdani’s, will give it a major political boost ahead of the 2026 midterm congressional elections, at a time of sharp division over the economy, immigration, and foreign  policy.

Mamdani’s win attracted special attention because it broke several records. At only 34 years old, he became the youngest person ever to hold the office of New York mayor. He is also the first immigrant to lead the city and the first Muslim in American history to serve as mayor of the nation’s largest metropolis. Born to Indian parents and raised in Uganda, his story reflects New York’s deep immigrant roots.

In his inaugural speech, Mamdani sent a clear message to Trump, saying, “New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant.” His words sparked a political exchange between the two.

The New York Times described the Democrats’ victories, particularly Mamdani’s, on November 5, 2025, as a sign that the party is regaining its balance.

Politico reported on the same day that with multiple Democratic governors winning, the Democrats did not just rebound but took control, noting that those who were swept away by last year’s Trump wave have now regained their momentum and strength.

A Defeat for Trump

Although the race was not a direct contest between Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump, U.S. media outlets described Mamdani’s victory as a challenge to Trump himself.

Fox News reported that the outcome was a defeat for Trump. In response, Trump said that his name was not on the ballot and blamed his party’s losses on the government shutdown.

Before the election, Trump had labeled Mamdani a communist, warning that New York would be “lost” if he won. He also criticized the young voters who supported Mamdani. After his victory, Mamdani responded with sharp remarks, saying that Trump was the real loser.

Mamdani described his win as a sign of the way to defeat President Donald Trump, whose policies he had long opposed.

He pledged to end the culture of corruption that allows billionaires like Trump to avoid paying taxes and benefit from exemptions.

“After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power,” he said.

“This is not only how we stop Trump; it’s how we stop the next one. So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”

“No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election. This new age will be defined by a competence and a compassion that have too long been placed at odds with one another,” Mamdani added.

“New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford, and a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.”

“So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. When we enter City Hall in 58 days, expectations will be high. We will meet them. A great New Yorker once said that while you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose,” he told Trump in his victory speech.

Since this victory was seen as a win for America, for Muslims, and for Palestine, and as a strong blow to the Israeli Occupation and to Americans hostile to Islam, large celebrations broke out among New York’s Muslim community after Mamdani’s triumph and his defiant speech against Trump.

“I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,” the new mayor said proudly.

Mamdani stated that President Trump’s threat to cut federal funding for New York came because he feels threatened by “our movement.”

He criticized Trump for spending 300 million dollars on renovating the White House ballroom, noting that the same amount could have provided food assistance for 100,000 New Yorkers at a time when Americans are struggling to afford basic groceries while the president indulges in personal extravagance.

Mamdani described federal funds as money rightfully owed to the city of New York, not property of Donald Trump to decide which city or state deserves a share. “We will fight for it,” he said.

Activists described his victory speech as one of the most historic pieces of political oratory in decades, praising it as the first campaign speech in years to place the working class at its center.

He did not speak about abstract politics or vague promises but about fingers swollen from lifting boxes in warehouse yards, palms blistered from gripping delivery bikes, and joints scarred by the burns of kitchen work, giving voice to the struggles of the working class and their hopes for change.

In his address, Mamdani quoted Eugene Debs, one of America’s most prominent socialist leaders, speaking about dismantling the old political dynasty and empowering a new class. He concluded by saying that New York will be the light in this time of political darkness.

The New York Times described Mamdani’s victory on November 5, 2025, as a sign of growing voter enthusiasm for generational change after what happened in New York.

In response, the White House released a slogan similar to Mamdani’s campaign message, but with the phrase “Trump is your president” following the announcement of his win.

Not Eligible for the Presidency

The back-and-forth between President Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani sparked questions about whether Mamdani could one day run for the U.S. presidency since he is an immigrant.

Legal experts and American media reports clarified that this debate has nothing to do with the presidency itself, as the U.S. Constitution bars anyone born outside the United States, even if they become a naturalized citizen, from running for president.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution states, “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”

Anyone who acquires citizenship through naturalization, meaning they were born in another country and later became a citizen, as in Mamdani’s case, is not considered “natural-born” for the purposes of this requirement.

According to this constitutional provision, Mamdani is therefore not legally eligible to run for the U.S. presidency, as he was born in Uganda in 1991, later immigrated with his family to the United States, and eventually became a naturalized citizen.

Meaning and Impact of His Victory

The victory of the Muslim immigrant Democrat struck several targets at once, sending clear messages to political and economic forces both inside and outside the United States.

It was seen as signaling the end of the era of dominance by the pro-”Israel” lobby over American politics and public life.

It also carried a message to politicians and business elites that money alone is no longer enough to win or exert pressure and that the interests of Americans now outweigh those of the Israeli Occupation, which is no longer viewed as a guaranteed pathway to political power.

Analysts argue that the most significant aspect of Mamdani’s win is not simply his personal success, but the collapse of the illusion that political advancement must pass through Tel Aviv.

On October 27, 2025, Business Insider published a report listing 26 billionaires—most of them Zionist Jews, including 16 from New York—who had spent more than 22 million dollars since the June 2025 primaries in an effort to defeat Mamdani, according to a previous report by Al-Estiklal.

His victory sent a message to Trump’s camp and the far-right MAGA movement that they were defeated by the will of the American people and that their political pressure cannot intimidate the young, the working class, or the marginalized and homeless who make up the majority of the population.

For New York, Mamdani’s win carries deep meaning. While critics portrayed him as a radical, his platform offered concrete economic and social solutions. He called for raising the minimum wage to 30 dollars an hour, increasing taxes on high-income earners, providing free bus transportation, expanding universal childcare, and boosting affordable housing.

He ran as an opponent of the city’s political and economic elite, calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, free public transit and childcare, a rent freeze, and major reforms to the police department, which he has sharply criticized.

Among his boldest proposals are a rent freeze for nearly two million residents living in city housing and a plan to create city-owned grocery stores with regulated prices. According to The New York Times on November 3, 2025, these measures could generate about 10 billion dollars in additional annual revenue.

Despite his victory and ambitious agenda, Mamdani will face major challenges when he takes office in January 2026. His plans depend on the approval of Governor Kathy Hochul and state legislators in Albany, amid deep skepticism from business leaders and Jewish communities in the city.

The situation is further complicated by Trump’s threat to cut federal funding to the city or deploy the National Guard if Mamdani pursues policies he disapproves of.

According to CBS News on November 4, 2025, the powers of New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, differ significantly from those of New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, as the governor holds higher authority.

The governor has full control over the state budget, with the power to propose it and the ability to use a strong line-item veto on specific spending measures.

The governor also holds legislative authority, including the power to reject bills passed by the state legislature and to set or modify state-level tax policy.

By contrast, the powers of New York City’s mayor are limited to the city’s budget, which must be approved by the City Council. Although Mamdani will oversee a massive municipal budget exceeding 100 billion dollars, he cannot raise or lower taxes on his own and must obtain the approval of the state legislature in Albany.

Secret Behind Netanyahu’s Attack

Because he is the first Muslim mayor of New York, the city that hosts the largest number of American and Israeli Jews, and because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to have him arrested if he set foot in “Israel,” it was only natural that Netanyahu would shout out and urge New York Jews to emigrate to the Israeli Occupation.

Mamdani openly supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and has refused to recognize the Israeli Occupation as a “Jewish state,” arguing that legitimacy cannot be built on extermination or discrimination but on equality.

He criticized New York pension funds for investing billions of dollars in Israeli bonds and arms companies, calling that funding complicit in the slaughter in Gaza at the expense of New Yorkers living in poverty.

Mamdani explicitly described what is happening in Gaza as a genocide carried out with the money of American taxpayers.

In response, Netanyahu and his ministers attacked the newly elected Muslim mayor of New York on November 5, 2025, and urged the city’s Jews to emigrate to Israel. This came despite images showing Jews in New York celebrating Mamdani’s victory and holding signs that read, “Congratulations New York” and “Zohran Mamdani is a friend of the Jews.”

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli stated on the social media platform X that New York City had “handed over its keys to a Hamas supporter” after Mamdani won the mayoral election.

He claimed that New York’s choice undermines the foundations of a city that offered freedom and opportunity to “Jewish refugees” since the late nineteenth century and has become home to the largest Jewish community in the world, and he urged New York Jews to move to “Israel.”

Mamdani’s victory caused a state of hysteria in the Israeli Occupation press. On November 5, 2025, Dr. Nissim Katz wrote in Israel Hayom that his win and the progressive political model he represents constitute a real existential threat to “Israel.”

He expressed concern that such a model could be repeated in any Western capital, aiming to neutralize and dismantle the Jewish sectarian power from within.

Israeli analyst Eli Leon wrote in Ma’ariv on the same day that Mamdani is dangerous because he described “Israel’s actions” in Gaza as “genocide,” which could affect Jewish investments in New York, political appointments, and even the behavior of the city’s police.

Despite those attacks, Mamdani’s campaign included large groups of progressive Jewish youth. He also sought meetings with Rabbi Moishe Indig and other Jewish leaders, winning their support, and affirmed, “We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism. Where the more than 1 million Muslims know that they belong—not just in the five boroughs of this city, but in the halls of power.”

The far-right New York Post, owned by Jewish businessman Michael Bloomberg, published on November 3, 2025, rumors disguised as questionable surveys about a supposed Jewish exodus from the city. The British Daily Mail ran similar claims at the same time.

Both papers reported that about one million New Yorkers are ready to flee the city if Mamdani becomes mayor, warning that this could lead to the largest population flight in the city’s history and potentially the biggest migration in the history of the United States.

The New York Post claimed that around 765,000 of New York City’s 8.4 million residents are prepared to leave, with about nine percent saying they would definitely move out if Mamdani were elected as the 111th mayor, citing a poll conducted by JL Partners.

The survey also said that another 25 percent of residents, roughly 2.12 million people out of New York’s 8.5 million population, including more than 950,000 Jews, stated they would “consider” packing their bags and leaving.

In contrast, progressive Jewish youth and Orthodox Jews in New York supported Zohran Mamdani, seeing him as someone who speaks out against Israeli war crimes. They urged voters to put New York’s interests above those of a foreign country.