President Donald Trump addressed the decisive victory of New York City mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday, a win that has stirred concern in Israel and among Jewish communities in the United States. During Mamdani’s campaign, the Republican president threatened to block federal funding to New York if the Democratic candidate took office. Wednesday evening’s tone was somewhat more conciliatory: while Trump again called Mamdani a “communist,” he said he might help the incoming mayor.
Trump suffered more than just a setback in New York. In gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey on the same day, Democratic candidates won by large margins. Speaking in Miami exactly one year after his presidential victory on Nov. 5, 2024, Trump told Americans they face “a choice between communism and common sense.”
Mamdani in Arabic in victory speech: 'I am from among you - and for you'
12 View gallery
Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani
(Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Alexi J. Rosenfeld / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
“If you want to see what congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the result of yesterday's election in New York, where their party installed a communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation,” Trump said of Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist. He continued: “The Democrats are so extreme that Miami will soon be the refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City.”
“Let's see how a communist does in New York,” Trump said of his future relationship with Mamdani’s administration. “We’re going to see how that works out. We’ll help them. We want New York to be successful. We’ll help them a little bit.”
Mamdani's victory speech
(Video: Reuters)
Trump’s Miami remarks came exactly one year after his sweeping victory over Kamala Harris in the presidential election. “On Nov. 5, 2024, the American people reclaimed our government. We restored our sovereignty. We lost a little bit of sovereignty last night in New York, but we’ll take care of that. Don’t worry about it,” he said.
In his victory speech, Mamdani said his win proves that Democrats can defeat their Republican rivals — led by Trump — while calling on his party to stop fearing progressive positions. “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,” he said. “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.”
12 View gallery
Zohran Mamdani with his wife Rama Duwaji at the victory celebrations
(Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
“In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light,” Mamdani added in his speech. “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.”
The 34‑year‑old Mamdani will be sworn in on Jan. 1 and will become New York’s first Muslim mayor. Yesterday, when introducing his all‑female transition team, he said he intends to speak with Trump “in order to serve New York’s residents” in the best possible way.
One-third of New York Jews voted for Mamdani
Despite his vocal opposition to Israel as a Jewish state and his support for boycotting it, Zohran Mamdani received support from a sizable portion of New York’s Jewish population — and from many Israelis living in the city. According to a CNN poll released Wednesday morning, Mamdani won about 33% of the Jewish vote in New York, home to the largest Jewish diaspora community. His opponent, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who repeatedly warned of rising antisemitism, received 63%.
Mamdani has denied allegations that he is antisemitic or that he contributed to the spike in antisemitic attacks in New York during the Gaza war, including through his participation in anti-Israel protests. In his victory speech Wednesday morning, he pledged to “fight against the scourge of antisemitism.”
Just hours after the election, Mamdani faced his first test on the issue, when red swastikas were spray-painted on the front of the Magen David Yeshiva in Brooklyn. According to police, the graffiti was discovered the morning after the vote. A lone suspect, dressed in black, fled on foot. The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force has launched an investigation. No arrests have been made.
Mamdani responded several hours later on the platform X, calling it “a disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism, and it has no place in our beautiful city.” He added, “As Mayor, I will always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism out of our city.” Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams also condemned the incident.
Mamdani’s win has sparked joy and pride among American Muslims, many of whom see it as a breakthrough. Supporters noted that he won despite facing anti-Muslim attacks during the campaign — and expressed relief that those attacks did not deter voters.
“For the first time in a very long time, I feel hope — as a Muslim, as a Democrat, as an American, and as an immigrant,” said Bukhtawar Waqas, who burst into tears of joy when Mamdani’s sweeping win was announced. Waqas, a Pakistani-American physician, said she was in the crowd for his victory speech, which she described as strikingly diverse. She said she never imagined, as a young woman, that New York could elect a Muslim mayor. She cast her vote for Mamdani based on his working-class message and promise of affordable housing. Nine out of ten Muslim voters backed him.
12 View gallery
Celebrating Mamdani's victory in New York
(Photo: SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
“It's surreal,” Fatima Khan told the New York Times as she watched the results come in at a café in Queens packed with Muslim residents. “I voted early and cried,” said Sumayya Chaudhary, a Muslim pharmacist also from Queens, who echoed the disbelief.
Muslims make up about 4% of New York City’s population, compared to a Jewish population three times that size. “Muslims are literally everywhere in the city,” said Rana Abdelhamid, founder of a Muslim women’s advocacy group. “We’ve been the backbone of so many parts of the city for so long, and now this is our time.”
Sylvia Chan-Malik, a Rutgers University professor of Islamic studies, said Mamdani’s win offered “a collective sigh of relief from Muslim New Yorkers, which would ripple across the country.” She said the legacy of 9/11 and the war on terror shaped the lives of generations of Muslims in and beyond New York. Mamdani’s victory, she said, showed that “many non-Muslims see through the lies and distortions about Islam.”
Youssef Chouhoud, a political science professor at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, also referenced the lasting impact of 9/11. “You can’t overstate the symbolic weight of Mamdani’s win, given what 9/11 represented and what followed,” he said. “It sends a powerful message that Muslims are not just part of this nation’s civic fabric, we help shape it. For years, American Muslims have worked to show that we belong in this society. Mamdani is showing that we belong in the halls of power, and that we’re ready to lead.”
After 9/11, many Muslims in the U.S. faced suspicion and hostility, with their patriotism called into question. “The bigger story here is how a community once seen mainly as outsiders or even scapegoats has steadily built political capital and visibility,” Chouhoud said.
In his victory speech, Mamdani declared that New York “will no longer be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election.” Waqas said some of the jabs Mamdani endured during the campaign reminded her that Islamophobia “is certainly alive and well — and it’s heartbreaking.”
Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of the Muslim-American advocacy group Emgage Action, which supported Mamdani, called the win “a historic moment” and said the candidate’s social and economic platform — not his identity — carried him to victory.
Ibtesam Khurshid, a Bangladeshi-American mother, said she was proud Mamdani won “without betraying any part of his identity.” She said her children now have proof that a South Asian Muslim can lead New York City. “His win speaks to New York's open-mindedness and diversity,” she said, expressing hope that other Muslim politicians would follow his path and shatter stereotypes.
Takiya Khan, who volunteered for Mamdani’s campaign, said religion and ethnicity were not what led her to support him — but his stance on Palestinian rights did play a role. Ismail Pathan, an Indian-American, said he was moved by the wide range of people who supported Mamdani. “The United States is a country of different cultures. That’s what makes us incredible,” he said. “Being able to say, ‘Oh look, a Muslim man was elected mayor in New York,’ how incredible of a thing is that?’”