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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani vows to confront Trump's "authoritarian administration" and New York's affordability crisis, promising to defend the city while launching an all-women transition team to deliver on his bold agenda.
New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference at the Unisphere in the Queens borough of New York City.
UPDATED: Nov 6, 2025 00:32 IST
Fresh off his historic win in New York City’s mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani vowed on Wednesday to stand up for New York against Trump. He said his victory was a mandate to tackle what he called the city’s twin crises -- an authoritarian administration in Washington and a deepening affordability crunch at home.
“New Yorkers are facing twin crises in this moment — an authoritarian administration and an affordability crisis,” Mamdani said at his first post-election news conference. “And it will be my job to deliver on both.”
The 34-year-old Democrat, who will become New York’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, said he intends to challenge President Donald Trump’s threats to strip federal funding from the city while tackling rising housing and living costs.
“I will stand up for this city and ensure we don’t blame Washington for everything that’s broken here,” he said, adding that many of New York’s problems “predate the Trump administration.”
Still, Mamdani left the door open to dialogue. “If there’s ever anything that could benefit the people of this city, I’m ready and willing to speak to anyone — even President Trump,” he said, noting that the White House had yet to reach out to congratulate him.
At the same event, Mamdani announced an all-women transition team — a group he said had “a track record of being able to handle multiple crises at the same time.” The team includes political strategist Elana Leopold, United Way of New York City President Grace Bonilla, former Deputy Mayor Melanie Hartzog, former FTC chair Lina Khan, and former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer.
Mamdani, who defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, now faces the challenge of turning his bold affordability agenda — including free child care, city-run grocery stores, and fare-free buses — into policy.
He said his administration would be compassionate and capable, capable of delivering the same policies we ran on for the last year.
Trump, who had repeatedly warned against a Mamdani victory, reacted online after the results came in. “...AND SO IT BEGINS!” he posted on Truth Social.
Mamdani brushed off the comment, saying, “I won’t mince my words when it comes to Donald Trump. But this isn’t about two individuals. It’s about the people of New York.”
More than 2 million New Yorkers cast ballots in the contest, the largest turnout in a mayoral race in more than 50 years, according to the city’s Board of Elections. With roughly 90% of the votes counted, Mamdani held an approximately 9 percentage point lead over Cuomo.
- Ends
With inputs from agencies
Published By:
Nitish Singh
Published On:
Nov 6, 2025
