Zohran Mamdani’s Primary Win: Why It Provoked Backlash from Pro-Trump, ‘Pro-Israel’ Groups

“Tonight we made history,” says Zohran Mamdani. “In the words of Nelson Mandela, it always seems impossible until it is done. My friends, we have done it.”

That was the message from Zohran Mamdani following his victory in the Democratic primary for New York’s mayoral race—a stunning win that sent shockwaves through both “pro-Israel” lobbying groups and the MAGA-aligned far right.

His nomination marks a dramatic turn in the politics of America’s most prominent city, defying pressure from powerful Zionist organizations and conservative factions aligned with former president Donald Trump.

The victory of the Muslim candidate—born to a Shia father and a Hindu mother, and a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause—over former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary marks a historic shift. 

With the general election in November 2025 widely expected to go in his favor, he is on track to become the first Muslim mayor in New York City’s history.

Given that registered Democrats in New York outnumber Republicans by nearly six to one, according to CNN on June 25, 2025, his path to City Hall now seems all but assured.

His triumph comes despite a sustained campaign by “pro-Israel” groups to derail his candidacy, and in a city where nearly one million Jewish residents live across its five boroughs.

Despite a staggering $35 million effort to unseat him—fueled largely by his outspoken support for Palestine and criticism of “Israel”—those opposing Mamdani failed to block his rise.

Though a decisive general election still awaits in November 2025, his primary win has already triggered a fierce backlash from the “pro-Israel” lobby and far-right evangelical supporters of Donald Trump. 

The response has taken on an overtly Islamophobic tone, with calls to bar Muslims from running for public office in the United States—an alarming turn driven by the singular fact that “Mamdani is Muslim.”

Campaign Against Islam

Following the announcement of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, a torrent of Islamophobic attacks erupted, with some Republican figures even calling for his deportation, citing his immigrant parentage.

The backlash—fueled by right-wing media outlets, conservative political circles, and social media—branded him a “jihadist terrorist.”

Far-right commentator and former White House spokesperson Laura Loomer went as far as to suggest that another 9/11-style attack could occur under his watch, a claim widely condemned as inflammatory and deeply prejudiced.

This storm of outrage comes despite Mamdani’s largely secular public persona and progressive politics. 

His wife, Rama Duwaji—a Texas-born artist of Syrian descent—often appears in liberal, Western dress, and Mamdani himself is an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.

Still, critics framed his likely mayoral win as “a civilizational threat,” according to The Guardian, June 26, 2025.

In the end, the hardline alliance of “pro-Israel” lobbyists and far-right evangelical Christians found little to weaponize against Mamdani—aside from his Muslim identity, which they have portrayed as a danger to New York.

In its analysis, The Guardian noted that Mamdani was targeted with “questioning loyalty, invoking terrorism and weaponizing faith”—a familiar playbook often deployed against Muslim public figures in the United States.

What his critics could not forgive was his ability to galvanize young voters and unseat former mayor Andrew Cuomo, a figure long mired in financial scandals and ethical controversies. 

Cuomo resigned on August 23, 2021, after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment from a former aide, paving the way for Kathy Hochul to assume the role in an interim capacity.

The backlash against Mamdani took an openly racist turn, with attacks increasingly focused on his Muslim identity. 

What began as a political contest morphed into a broader assault on Islam itself. 

Right-wing tabloid The New York Post issued a shrill warning ahead of the November 2025 election, “Save America… Help Us… Wake Up, America!”

With a tone of alarm, it decried what it called a socialist Muslim candidate for mayor of New York.

A wave of incendiary rhetoric followed Mamdani’s primary victory, with right-wing outlets warning that under his leadership, New York would descend into “terror, chaos, and poverty,” prompting an exodus of business leaders.

U.S. President Donald Trump joined the fray, branding Mamdani a “radical leftist lunatic.” 

The Muslim candidate responded with characteristic defiance, “I am Donald Trump’s worst nightmare.”

His victory also sent shockwaves through “pro-Israel” circles and the far-right evangelical base of the MAGA movement. 

Figures such as Senator Ted Cruz and other ultra-conservative voices reacted with open hysteria—calling not only for Mamdani’s political defeat, but also for barring Muslims from participating in American public life altogether.

In the wake of Mamdani’s victory, Trump-aligned extremists mobilized quickly, turning the election into a broader assault on Islam. 

They invoked terms like “jihad” and the Muslim Brotherhood in an effort to stoke fear, warning that Muslim political victories pose an existential threat to American values. 

Some even called for Mamdani to be barred from assuming the office of mayor.

Far-right congresswoman and Trump ally Laura Loomer took to X, calling on the Republican Party to “address the threat of Islam in America,”—a claim widely condemned as inflammatory and baseless.

Despite the Muslim Brotherhood having no connection whatsoever to the New York mayoral race or to Mamdani himself, Loomer went on to accuse the GOP of endangering national security by failing to designate the group as a terrorist organization.

Loomer further escalated her rhetoric, accusing Muslim immigrants running for office in the United States of receiving foreign funding through so-called “pro-jihad” political action committees.

“If the GOP is willing to allow an Islamic caliphate to take place in our country, then they don’t deserve our money,” she tweeted.

Her remarks, steeped in conspiratorial language and anti-Muslim sentiment, drew widespread condemnation but echoed a growing pattern of far-right fearmongering aimed at Muslim political participation in America.

In another overtly racist gesture, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene shared an image of the Statue of Liberty draped in a black hijab—a crude attempt to stoke fear over the prospect of a Muslim winning elected office in New York.

In a striking twist, “pro-Israel” Emirati writers hostile to Islamist movements, such as Amjad Taha—who contributes to Israeli newspapers—issued warnings to Americans about accepting the victory of the Muslim candidate Mamdani.

“When a Muslim Brotherhood influenced, Marxist flavored politician becomes mayor of a once civilized city, that’s not democracy, it’s like handing the keys of Solomon’s Temple to Nebuchadnezzar and expecting a prayer service,” Taha Tweeted.

“if Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor, prepare to watch churches turn into jihadist campuses, universities become bully pulpits where Jews are harassed and the harassers celebrated. It won’t be “progress,” it will be the Tower of Babel built on lies, not bricks. This is not progress. This is Lot’s wife looking back and calling it forward.”

Amid the widespread hostility and fears surrounding Mamdani’s likely victory as the frontrunner in the November 2025 general election, two former New York mayors have been urged to enter the race as independent candidates.

Former mayor Eric Adams has announced his intention to run for re-election as an independent, setting the stage for a potentially fractious contest.

The defeated candidate in the primary, Andrew Cuomo, has not ruled out running as an independent in November on the ticket of another party.

Meanwhile, Congressman Andy Ogles has formally requested that Attorney General Merrick Garland revoke Mamdani’s citizenship and deport him to Uganda, where he was born before immigrating to the United States with his parents. 

Mamdani expressed solidarity with “individuals convicted of terrorism-related offenses prior to becoming a US citizen.” Ogles said. 

Zohran "little muhammad" Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings. 

Critical of “Israel” and India

What has infuriated both Israelis and Indians alike—despite Mamdani’s Indian heritage—is his staunch opposition to the Israeli occupation and his vocal support for Palestine, coupled with his fierce criticism of India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When asked whether he would meet Modi if the latter visited New York, Mamdani replied unequivocally that he would not, describing Modi as “the butcher of Gujarat.”

Modi’s rise to power is shadowed by the 2002 Gujarat massacres, which occurred while he was the state’s chief minister. 

The violence resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,000 Muslims and the displacement of 25,000 others, with communal tensions worsening under his subsequent tenure as prime minister.

Among the accusations leveled against the victorious Muslim candidate were claims that he was “sympathetic” to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, branded a “jihadist terrorist,” and accused of being anti-Jewish. 

Mamdani has consistently denied opposing Jewish people, clarifying that his criticism is directed at Zionism.

His activism in support of Palestine and opposition to the devastating conflict in Gaza played a significant role in mobilizing young voters, ultimately securing him the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor—outpacing a rival backed by the “pro-Israel” lobby.

Observers argue that this victory not only signals a local political shift but also reflects the growing influence of global events—most notably the fallout from the Gaza war—on public sentiment in the United States, particularly among younger generations.

Palestinian analyst Yasser al-Zaatreh encapsulated the moment, saying, “Gaza is casting its vote in New York.”

Throughout his career, Mamdani has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government and a steadfast supporter of Palestinian rights, stoking anger among Jewish groups.

In response, “pro-Israel” organizations rallied against him, with the lobby pouring $35 million into the campaign of his defeated rival, Andrew Cuomo—including $8 million from Jewish billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

Cuomo, the losing former governor of New York, has been one of the most ardent defenders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Millions of dollars were spent to prevent Mamdani’s victory, while Mamdani’s campaign managed to raise just $9 million—mostly from small donors.

The campaign was marked by palpable tension, with Mamdani subjected to a concerted smear effort, labeled “anti-Semitic” and “extremist” due to his outspoken support for Palestinian justice and condemnation of the Gaza genocide.

The Guardian reported on June 26 that several factors contributed to Mamdani’s remarkable victory, including his vocal backing of Gaza, rejection of the mass killings, and solidarity with protesters—particularly his calls for the release of student Mahmoud Khalil, whom Donald Trump had unsuccessfully sought to deport.

Mamdani also condemned Israeli atrocities and pledged to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu—accused of war crimes—should the former prime minister visit New York during his mayoralty.

Mamdani faced fierce attacks from Israeli media even before his victory, after publicly declaring his opposition to Zionism at a protest in 2021. The Times of Israel on May 30, 2025, published a provocative video of his remarks.

In the footage, from a demonstration organized by the Jewish Voice for Peace—an organization of Jews opposing the Gaza genocide—he stated that he “rejects Jewish sovereignty in the occupied territories” and insisted that opposition to Zionism is not the same as anti-Semitism.

Mamdani has affirmed that he has long fought for “justice” in the Palestinian territories—both in the West Bank and Gaza—as well as in Haifa (now part of “Tel Aviv”).

He also angered both “pro-Israel” advocates and far-right Christian conservatives with his outspoken criticism of Donald Trump’s military strikes on Iran, which he described as the broadest failure of the American political system.

Mamdani condemned the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites as an “unconstitutional military action” carried out without congressional approval, according to The New York Post on June 22, 2025.

Mamdani emphasized the need to prioritize national resources towards helping people rather than funding wars, linking these views to his belief in directing funds to public services and peace initiatives.

The racist campaign targeting him prompted criticism from various commentators and politicians, who condemned the attacks.

Many have pointed to the campaign as revealing the fragility of American democracy and the hypocrisy embedded in its rhetoric of “freedom and human rights” when those rights concern Arabs or Muslims.

Observers expressed astonishment not only at the financial and political efforts to unite against Mamdani and topple his candidacy, but also at the attempts to strip Muslims of their right to run for office—even as many have successfully won local and national elections across the United States.