New York — Newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his victory speech to issue a direct challenge to President Donald Trump, declaring that the city under his leadership will stand firmly with immigrant communities.
“To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us,” Mamdani said to a cheering crowd gathered inside a packed Brooklyn theater. He told supporters that New York, led by an immigrant, would remain a welcoming city for all.
Speaking as though Trump were watching, Mamdani said, “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I’ve got four words for you: Turn the volume up.”
Trump quickly responded on Truth Social with a terse four-word post: “…AND SO IT BEGINS,” signaling the start of what may be a confrontational relationship between the White House and the nation’s largest city.
In the final days of the campaign, Trump had labeled Mamdani — a Democratic Socialist — as a “Communist” and warned that New York would become “a complete and total economic and social disaster” if he won. Trump also threatened to pull federal funding for the city.
Mamdani, 34, framed his victory as a turning point. “No longer will we have to open a history book for proof that Democrats can dare to be great,” he said. He reiterated campaign pledges to tackle affordability through expanded public housing, fare-free rapid bus service, universal childcare, and rent freezes on certain units.
He acknowledged the challenges ahead, invoking former Governor Mario Cuomo’s famous line that campaigns are won in poetry but governing happens in prose. “If that must be true, let the prose we write still rhyme,” Mamdani said. “Let us build a shining city for all.”
His parents — filmmaker Mira Nair and scholar Mahmood Mamdani — joined him on stage as he reflected on questions raised about his identity.
“I am young. I am Muslim. I am a Democratic Socialist,” he said. “And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.”
Responding to criticism over his vocal support for pro-Palestinian protests and accusations of anti-Semitism, Mamdani emphasized unity.
“We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast with Jewish New Yorkers in the fight against anti-Semitism,” he said. “And it will also be a place where more than one million Muslims know they belong — not just in this city, but in its halls of power.”
“No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election,” he added.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, whom Mamdani defeated, conceded and wished him success “for the sake of the greatest city in the world.” Some of Cuomo’s supporters booed, but he urged them to stop, saying, “That is not us.”
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa also offered conditional support. “If he does well, we do well,” Sliwa said, while warning he would become Mamdani’s “worst enemy” if policies weakened policing or endangered public safety. (Source: IANS)
