Just this week President Donald Trump has announced that he will arrest mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani if he chooses to prohibit the arrest of immigrants in New York City. Furthermore, President Trump adds, “we don’t need a communist in this country,” and claims that he will be keeping a close eye on Mamdani.
Who is Zohran Kwame Mamdani anyway?
The 33-year-old mayoral candidate is also the Assemblymember for District 36, and has been since 2021. Additionally, he recently won the mayoral primary election receiving 43.51% of the votes. In contrast, his biggest opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo came in second place with 36.42% of votes. Needless to say, Mamdani has been gaining as massive amount of attention from the media for his explicit support for the working class and immigrant populations
A couple of Mamdani’s proposals include stabilizing rent, fare free busing, and taxing the wealthiest of new yorkers. He intendes to create The Department of Community Safety, which will target under-resourced neighborhoods by providing “prevention-first, community-based solutions.” In particular, the department will hone in on mental health education, gun violence prevention, and the safety of new yorkers.
Throughout his campaign Mamdani has visited and attended many community events like the Puerto Rico parade on June 8th. His active social media presence and friendliness to citizens has earned him the support of countless new yorkers. Many express their excitement to have a candidate that is willing to support working class communities, such as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has openly endorsed Mamdani.
However, he has also received bashlash for these same reasons. Despite proclaiming himself as a socialist, like Trump, many label him as communist. Consequently, it stirred controversy and has become a key point of criticism for his election. Apart from political affiliation, his opponent Cuomo has reiterated that his lack of experience is concerning. As he states, “This is not the time to learn on the job.”
In the face of criticism, Mamdani continues to advocate for working class communities and assures new yorkers that he will provide them with a safer prosperous New York City. Unless there is a shift in the political atmosphere, Mamdani will continue to take the lead in the upcoming November mayoral elections.
The Blindspot 