Praise and vitriol pours in after Zohran Mamdani's historic NYC mayoral victory

National and international reactions have been pouring in after Democratic Socialist and New York state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani landed a stunning political victory in New York City’s mayoral election on Tuesday night. 

Mamdani won more than half the votes (50.4 percent) of more than two million votes cast. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who came in second, garnered 41.6 percent of the vote, while former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa gained 7.1 percent. So far, 93 percent of all the votes have been counted. 

Mamdani's campaign focused on making New York City more affordable. Running on a left-wing platform, he has promised to freeze rent for two million New Yorkers, provide free bus travel, and offer universal childcare - a platform funded by a proposed two percent tax increase on New York City residents earning more than $1m.

After it was clear that Democrats were scoring wins in the mayoral race and three other races in the country, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced how the Democratic Party was “back” in a post on X, which earned scorn. 

“Democrats are smoking Donald Trump and Republican extremists throughout the country. Enough with the premature obituaries. The Democratic Party is back," Jefrries wrote.

Jeffries, who gave a last-minute endorsement to Mamdani, on Tuesday congratulated him and other winners, and proceeded to say that “Americans are fed up with the high cost of living, broken promises, Republican attacks on healthcare, GOP corruption, and the unprecedented assault on our life,” in a post on X.

Former US President Joe Biden is said to have called Mamdani to congratulate him on Wednesday, according to a report on CNN.

Others were less generous. President Donald Trump expectedly lashed out at Mamdani, telling the American Business Forum in Miami that New York City had elected “a communist”, a term he has used repeatedly to describe him.

“If you want to see what Congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the results of yesterday’s election in New York - where their party installed a communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation. Remember, I said we will never have a socialist elected to any post in our country? I used to say that … we skipped socialists, we put in the communists instead.”

“Take a look at what’s happening in different parts of the world - but now the Democrats are so extreme that Miami will soon be the refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City.”

He later appeared to soften his comments during the same conference, saying, “We’re going to see how that works out,” he said. “And we’ll help them…We want New York to be successful. We’ll help them a little bit, maybe.”

'Let me know what I can do'

There was some marked vitriol from political figures in Israel, a country Mamdani has criticised for its war on Gaza and treatment of Palestinians. Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli lashed out at Mamdani and said that New York City had "handed over its keys to a supporter of Hamas", saying that "New York will no longer be the same, especially for its Jewish community". He urged Jewish New Yorkers to move to Israel.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Chikli said: “The jihadists are celebrating. They know exactly why. As Einstein said: 'Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe."

'He's just on it': New Yorkers laud Mamdani's energy and progressive politics on election day

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National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir described Mamdani's win as “antisemitism’s triumph over common sense”.⁠

In his election speech, Mamdani promised to tackle the “scourge of antisemitism”.

Meanwhile, Mamdani also received congratulations from unexpected quarters. New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacob congratulated Mamdani months after he had refused to back him. 

“I want to congratulate Zohran Mamdani on his historic election victory and wish him the very best with high hopes for his success and the City’s success under the leadership that he will provide," he said in a statement.

Billionaire Bill Ackman surprised many after spending months criticising and fear-mongering against Mamdani, while reportedly spending millions to defeat him. He congratulated Mamdani in a post on X on Tuesday. 

“Congrats on the win. Now you have a big responsibility. If I can help NYC, just let me know what I can do.”

Ackman spent $1.75m donating to super PACs Defend NYC and Fix the City to ensure Mamdani wasn’t elected, stating that his victory would make New York City a more dangerous place and cause top businesses to flee.

In another post on Wednesday, he defended his move as someone who loves New York City and wants what is best for it. 

Celebrities also weighed in on Mamdani’s win.

Writer Stephen King congratulated Mamdani and took a swipe at Elon Musk in a post on X on Wednesday. “It's amusing, after electing a right-wing extremist as President, to watch all the pearl-clutching about Zohran Mamdani. Musk moans that "Western civilization is doomed."