Zohran Mamdani, recently elected as New York City’s new mayor, is already facing backlash over the video he released following his victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Following his victory, Mamdani shared a video on X outlining his plans for the transition period, emphasizing that “a lot of work lies ahead.”
The newly elected New York City mayor thanked his supporters and explained that, while he had previously asked them to stop sending campaign donations, he was now encouraging contributions from “working class” residents to help fund the transition. Mamdani said the funds would be used to hire policy experts, strengthen infrastructure, and support the early stages of his administration.
Along with the video, Mamdani wrote, “Thank you, New York City. Together we made history. Now let’s get to work.”
His demand for donations immediately after his election victory sparked backlash online.
“It’s been less than 24 hours since Mamdani won the election & he’s already asking for money. Congratulations New York City, bravo,” one user wrote.
Another added, “Islamist and Communist Mamdani promises ‘free’ stuff. Now he begs for donations?” Yet another person commented, “Already begging for money. What a joke.”
Liberal commentator Van Jones was among those raising alarm at Democratic socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s fiery victory speech, noting what he called an instant “character switch” as soon as the election was called.
A roaring Mamdani wasted no time in claiming a mandate for his progressive agenda and taunting President Trump as he rallied supporters Tuesday night, the New York Post reported.
Jones told CNN that the 34-year-old’s tone was a stark departure from the calm and collected image he showed on the campaign trail.
“I think he missed an opportunity. I think the Mamdani that we saw in the campaign trail, who was a lot more calm, who was a lot warmer, who was a lot more embracing, was not present in that speech,” Jones said on a post-election panel.
“I think his tone was sharp. I think he was using the microphone in a way that he was almost yelling. That’s not the Mamdani that we’ve seen on TikTok and the great interviews and stuff like that.”
“I felt like it was a little bit of a character switch here,” he continued. “That warm, open, embracing guy was not there tonight.”
Jones, who served as an adviser in the Obama administration, said Mamdani would have been wiser to reach out to voters still wary of his far-left platform.
“There are a lot of people trying to figure out, ‘Can I get on this train with him or not? Is he going to include me? Is he going to be more of a class warrior even in office?’” Jones said. “I think he missed a chance tonight to open up and bring more people into the tent.”
“He’s very young and he just pulled off something very, very difficult. I wouldn’t write him off, but I think he missed an opportunity to open himself up tonight and I think that that will probably cost him going forward.”
Mamdani declared victory roughly two hours after polls closed.
With nearly 98 percent of precincts reporting, Mamdani led with 50.4 percent of the vote to independent candidate Andrew Cuomo’s 42 percent, according to the city Board of Elections.
“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. 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,” Mamdani said in his 20-minute victory speech.
“New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city that we can afford and a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.”
