an-immigrant-mayor-of-new-york-in-trump-era

By Vimal Sumbly

 

There is something unique and strange about the US democracy.  A young boy moves to the US at the age of seven from Uganda, becomes a US citizen at the age of 27 and gets elected to the New York State Assembly at the age of 29, after defeating veterans in both the primaries and the general elections. The same boy, Zohran Mamdani, now 34, is a hot favourite in the race for the Mayor of New York City, one of the most prestigious positions in the United States.

 

Interestingly, this is happening at a time when the US President Donald Trump has launched an aggressive campaign against “illegal” immigrants through the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Interestingly, some Republicans are seeking to cancel Mamdani’s citizenship and deport him.

 

Again in the primaries for the Democratic nomination for the Mayor, he defeated Andrew Mark Cuomo, a second-generation political veteran and a former Governor of New York. His father Mario Cuomo was also the New York Governor for eight years.

 

Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, an ultra-left organisation with radical political and economic views. Prominent among those supporting him include known radical socialists, Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from the state of Vermont and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (AOC) the fiery and firebrand Congresswoman from New York’s 14th Congressional District.

 

The best thing that can happen to the Republicans will be the election of Mamdani as the Mayor of New York City. Given the trend of the last few mayoral elections, a Democratic candidate is once again a favourite in the NYC race. However, it is too early to pronounce him as Mayor of the NYC, elections for which are scheduled on November 4.

 

Probably for the first time the Mayoral elections of the NYC have evinced so much interest among people in the US, with no less a person than President Donald Trump pitching in personally and describing Mamdani as a “Communist lunatic”.

 

Mamdani is a known anti-Semitist and pro-Palestine. So much so that he did not even condemn the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which left about 1,200 Jews dead. As a member of the New York assembly, he issued a token statement, “mourning” the killing of people “across Israel and Palestine”, with no mention of the Hamas terror attack, leave aside condemning it.

 

“I mourn the hundreds of people killed across Israel and Palestine in the last 36 hours,” Mamdani wrote on ‘X’, saying, “Netanyahu’s declaration of war, the Israeli government’s decision to cut electricity to Gaza, and Knesset members calling for another Nakba will undoubtedly lead to more violence and suffering in the days and weeks to come. The path towards a just and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid”.

 

Imagine a person of such orientation and views about Israel, virtually condoning the terror attack, becoming the Mayor of NYC. Born to Indian parents in Kampala in Uganda, Mamdani moved with them to the US and studied in New York schools. He was naturalised as a US citizen in 2018. He was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020 and re-elected in 2022 and 2024.

 

Also read: Mamdani for New York Mayor doesn’t enthuse Indians much

 

His father Mahmood Mamdani, originally from Gujarat, India, was a professor and his mother Mira Nair is a noted filmmaker.

 

Under the Trump presidency, the opinion within the United States is deeply polarised, particularly in places like New York, which has a cosmopolitan character. Although Mamdani is deemed as a favourite, the road to his victory is not an easy one, as Cuomo has decided to contest as an independent candidate. Besides the sitting Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has opted to run as an independent.

 

They may not necessarily cut into the Democratic votes alone. There is a possibility of the anti-Mamdani vote getting divided between his opponents like Cuomo, the Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and the sitting Mayor Eric Adams. Adams opted out of the primaries, apparently over his “subtle understanding” with Trump, who reportedly bailed him out in a case related to corruption charges.

 

What makes Mamdani’s chances very strong is that New York is a Democratic stronghold with six democrats against every Republican. At the same time, the city has a large and significant presence of Jews, who constitute about 11 per cent of the city’s population. Given the anti-Semitic image of Mamdani, their choice will be too clear as for whom they would be going to vote.

 

There is a strong likelihood of the Jewish number being offset by the nine per cent Muslim population. Although claiming to be a progressive, Mamdani identifies himself to be a Muslim by religion. In the Trump era, where he is perceived to be an anti-Muslim, anyone challenging him and anyone he (Trump) is opposed to, would naturally get their maximum votes and when the person seeking votes is himself a vocal Muslim espousing Muslim causes, like Mamdani.

 

New York happens to be the largest city in the United States. The Mayor holds a powerful position in the city. In case Mamdani gets elected as the Mayor, he will be the first “Muslim Mayor of New York” that in itself will be an interesting phenomenon and that too happening during the Trump presidency.

 

While it is too early to pronounce the final result, in case Mamdani emerges victorious, Trump is certain to use it to consolidate his support base and try to vindicate his stand on immigrants. For him there cannot be a better issue than Mamdani, a Muslim and an immigrant who got naturalised just seven years ago, before laying claim to the Mayorship of the largest city of the country.

 

No wonder Trump is feeling outraged and some Republican leaders, including the Congressmen and Senators like Andy Ogles are even seeking to cancel Mamdani’s citizenship and deport him.

 

Mamdani’s possible election as New York Mayor would be an anathema and an affront to Trump’s aggressively anti-immigrant campaign. But, that is something unique to American democracy and possible in America only.