Standing before a jubilant crowd on Tuesday night, Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist and mayor-elect of New York City, delivered a soaring victory speech promising “a new age” for the nation’s largest city.

“The sun may have set over our city this evening,” Mamdani began, quoting labor leader Eugene Debs, “‘but I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.’”

With his election, Mamdani becomes the first South Asian, first Muslim, and first Millennial to lead New York City. His win marks a dramatic end to the political era of former governor Andrew Cuomo and the city’s centrist establishment.

“Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it,” Mamdani told supporters. “The future is in our hands. My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.”

Mamdani framed his victory as a mandate from working New Yorkers long excluded from power—warehouse workers, delivery drivers, and kitchen staff “whose hands have not been allowed to hold power.”

“New York, tonight, you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford,” he said.

He pledged an ambitious agenda to freeze rents for more than two million tenants, make buses “fast and free,” and deliver universal childcare.

“Central to that vision,” he said, “will be the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost-of-living crisis this city has seen since the days of Fiorello La Guardia.”

A Direct Challenge to Trump

Mamdani did not shy away from addressing former president Donald Trump, who earlier in the day posted that if New Yorkers elected him mayor, “it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home.”

Mamdani fired back from the stage:

“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.”

He continued:

“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 new mayor also vowed to “hold bad landlords to account because the Donald Trumps of our city have grown far too comfortable taking advantage of their tenants,” and to “end the culture of corruption that has allowed billionaires like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks.”

“So hear me, President Trump, when I say this,” Mamdani declared to thunderous applause. “To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”

A City for All

Mamdani’s speech also aimed bigotry and inequality, promising a government that “stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers,” welcomes “the more than one million Muslims who know they belong,” and defends immigrants and marginalized communities.

“In this moment of political darkness,” he said, “New York will be the light.”

He pledged to expand union protections, hire thousands of teachers, and restore dignity to public housing residents. “Safety and justice will go hand in hand,” he said, promising a new Department of Community Safety focused on homelessness and mental health.

Mamdani credited his victory to a massive grassroots movement of more than 100,000 volunteers who “eroded the cynicism that has come to define our politics.”

“This city belongs to you,” he told supporters in closing. “Together, New York, we’re going to freeze the—”
“Rent!” the crowd roared back.
“Together, New York, we’re going to make buses fast and—”
“Free!”
“Together, New York, we’re going to deliver universal—”
“Childcare!”

As confetti fell, Mamdani smiled and offered his final words: “Let the words we’ve spoken together, the dreams we’ve dreamt together, become the agenda we deliver together. New York, this power, it’s yours.”

WATCH HIS FULL SPEECH BELOW: 

Who is Zohran Mamdani

Zohran Kwame Mamdani was born October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda.

He is serving as a member of the New York State Assembly and is now mayor-elect of New York City, set to take office on January 1, 2026.

A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he represents the 36th Assembly District in Queens, encompassing Astoria and parts of Long Island City.

The son of Ugandan-born scholar Mahmood Mamdani and acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, Mamdani spent two years in Cape Town (he attended St George’s Grammar School between the ages of 5 and 7) before the family moved to New York City.

He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and earned a BA in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College in 2014. Before entering politics, he worked as a housing counselor assisting low-income families facing foreclosure and was also active in hip-hop music, performing under the name Young Cardamom.

Elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, Mamdani gained recognition for his advocacy on affordable housing, public transit, and social equity. His successful 2025 mayoral campaign focused on affordability, fare-free buses, universal childcare, city-run grocery stores, rent freezes, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030.

Mamdani is the first South Asian, first Muslim, and first Millennial to be elected mayor of New York City. He lives in Astoria, Queens, with his wife, animator and illustrator Rama Duwaji.