Democratic New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani thanked supporters in a speech Tuesday night, framing his campaign as a victory over “big money and small ideas.”
“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 told the cheering crowd.
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In a speech that opened with a quote from socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs, Mamdani touted his proposals to tackle the cost of living and vowed to work with police. And he directly addressed concerns among Democrats that he could be harmful to the party’s brand.
“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate,” he said, listing his age, Muslim faith and identity as a democratic socialist. “If tonight teaches us anything, it is that convention has held us back. We have bowed at the altar of caution and we have paid a mighty price.”
He took a dig at former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran against him as an independent after falling short in the Democratic primary.
“My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty,” he said. “I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life. But let tonight be the final time I utter his name, as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few.”
Turning his attention to President Trump, he argued, “If there is any way to terrify a despot, is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.”
He continued: “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”
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