Can the US afford a Zohran?

While US President Donald Trump was making headlines this week on the global stage, particularly playing "daddy" in the Israel-Iran conflict, a political earthquake was recorded in New York City after midnight on Tuesday, and its tremors are being felt across the US.

Enter Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Muslim of Indian origin who is a proclaimed socialist. And the game of politics in the country has suddenly changed. It would be hard to even imagine that someone like him would be the nominee of the Democratic Party for the election of the mayor of New York.

His main rival in the primary election of the Party, Andrew Cuomo, a former governor of New York state, conceded defeat in the small hours of Wednesday when almost all the ballots had been counted and Cuomo, a big star in the Democratic Party's galaxy, was way behind Zohran. This is a stunning upset in American political history.

"In the words of Nelson Mandela, it always seems impossible until it is done", Zohran told his cheering supporters. "My friends, it is done".

The big question, of course, is how this was possible in the time of Trump. Is the tide turning against right-wing populism? Besides, what does this say about the future of the Democratic Party, because analysts feel that Zohran's emergence is likely to divide the party.

Zohran has been a member of the New York State Assembly for some years. The central point of his campaign is quite simple: "A city we can afford". Affordability is a major issue for the common citizens of New York, and Zohran has promised to tax the rich to pay for free buses and child care. One of his slogans is ‘Afford a dream’.

He is pro-Palestine and is critical of Israel's actions in Gaza. He has publicly stated that as mayor he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to visit New York, on the basis of arrest warrants issued in November 2024.

Essentially, the very thought of a Muslim socialist who is critical of Israel becoming the mayor of a city that has the largest Jewish population in the world is forbidding. Since the general election for the mayor is to be held in November, the stage is being set for a very bitter and contentious campaign.

Given the state of American politics at this time, the Democratic nominee has a good chance of winning this election. Zohran certainly has some Jewish supporters but many Jewish Democrats have said that concerns about the interests of their community have not been addressed. After all, the Jews claim to have played a major role in building the city.

Incidentally, one very exciting and crucial fact about Zohran has only now become widely known. Yes, the celebrated Indian filmmaker Mira Nair is his mother. This has enhanced Zohran's appeal in South Asia. One can thus understand why his campaign video in Urdu — in India, it is in Hindi — has worked so well. It is really very engaging, using clips from Bollywood movies. He also did a video in Spanish.

His father is Prof Mahmood Mamdani, who comes from Gujarat in India, though Zohran's parents migrated to the US from Uganda when he was seven. His father teaches at Columbia and both his parents are Harvard alumni.

Obviously, he has strong support among Asian and Hispanic communities that have a good presence in New York. He is married to a 27-year-old Syrian artist.

During his campaign in the Democratic primary, Zohran had said that he was President Trump's worst nightmare. This makes sense and the observation was vindicated when Trump responded to the result of the Democratic mayoral primary on Wednesday.

"Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary and is on his way to becoming Mayor," Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this [is] getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he's not very smart."

A test case for progressive politics is in progress in America. Naturally, the general election campaign will pay national attention on this and a number of other issues. The Republicans are sure to highlight what they see as the Democratic Party’s leftward drift. There are questions about the role that Jews would play in progressive politics. Younger, more progressive Jews may agree with Zohran's criticism of Israel. Because of Gaza war, Israel's standing in America has fallen precipitously.

On his part, Zohran has assured his supporters that: "I will not abandon my beliefs and my commitments". As a democratic socialist, he has been talking about redistributing wealth. He does not shy away from his far-left social and foreign policy positions.

Expectedly, the conservatives are freaking out. Zohran is becoming a target of racist attacks from the right. Anti-Muslim sentiments could rise in some quarters, raising even the threat of violence. Islamophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric may increase.

The situation is grim but the real shock will be felt in November, if a Muslim and a socialist becomes New York's mayor for the first time in history. Political analyst Stephen Moller, who is known as the architect of Trump's immigration policy, called Zohran's primary win as "the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration". Another comment by another observer: "We sadly have forgotten the Sept 11 attacks."

On a more serious note, his detractors are talking about his limited legislative experience. New York has always been a great challenge. It is a great city, a centre of power and wealth. There are critics who think that Zohran's progressive policy ideas are too extreme for the city.

But the support that Zohran has mobilised, mostly among the young, seems revolutionary in nature. At one level, it could be a generational issue. It is significant that Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have enthusiastically endorsed Zohran.

But, finally, can Trump's America afford a Zohran?

The writer is a senior journalist.He can be reached at: ghazi_salahuddin @hotmail.com

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this piece are the writer's own and don't necessarily reflect Geo.tv's editorial policy.

Originally published in The News