There’s a new sheriff in town
New York City could have a great mayor again. Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic candidate, appears to be cut from the same political cloth as Fiorello La Guardia, one of the city’s greatest mayors. What’s more, not only is Mamdani a progressive, he is a strong supporter of climate action, which he views as essential to achieving social justice in New York City.
Mamdani’s antecedents are fascinating and vintage “New York.” A Muslim, born in Uganda of parents born in India, he came to the United States as a small child. Educated at Maine’s Bowdoin College, he served two terms in the New York State legislature. He is, at 33, the quintessential New York success story, an immigrant who made it big in the Big Apple.
More than that, Mamdani is symbolic of the growing disgust with Trump corruption and the growing opposition to the small but dodgier side of the Democratic Party. He demolished Andrew Cuomo and the corrupt incumbent Eric Adams in what was more than a primary, it was a referendum on what Americans really want.
Trump and his stooges are apoplectic, of course. On Sunday Trump threatened to cut New York City off from federal funds if Mamdani wins and “doesn’t behave himself.” Trump told part time drunk and full time Fox “News” host Maria Bartiromo that a Mamdani victory was “inconceivable” because he is “a pure communist.”
He’s no such thing. Mandani is a self-styled Democratic Socialist who believes that New York billionaires should start paying their way. He wants to end socialism for the rich and privileged and return the city to the people.
Mandani is prepared for what he’s going to be up against if he wins the election. He “already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am — ultimately because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for.”
Mandani also plans to oppose Trump’s unlawful immigration policies and arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in New York. Trump said, with typical clumsiness, that the mayoral candidate would “be very unsuccessful” on both counts.
Mandani is part of an emerging faction in the Democratic Party prepared to take real, tangible action against the MAGA infestation. He best summed it up when he observed that Democrats “need to be a party that’s not just against Donald Trump, but also for something.”
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.