The 33-year-old New York City mayoral candidate,<\/a> who has built his brand on viral content, was criticized by Instagram followers after he featured interviews with two kids promoting his bid for City Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n The criticism also came as New York City launched a statewide classroom cellphone ban aimed at protecting student mental health, and ahead of the mayoral election. On Thursday, Mamdani appeared outside I.S. 5 in Queens, praising the new cellphone ban while welcoming families back for the first day of the school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Instagram, he also shared a post and contrasted his own childhood with today\u2019s digital reality, writing:<\/p>\n EX-MAYOR DE BLASIO TOUTS SOCIALIST MAMDANI AS NEW YORK CITY’S ANSWER TO TRUMP POLICIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The 33-year-old mayoral candidate posted videos of kids endorsing him after praising his social media-free childhood. (Zohran Kwame Mamdani)<\/p>\n “I consider myself fortunate\u2014when I was a student, it was before social media had cannibalized the way that kids interact with one another,” he wrote. The post was paired with a back-to-school message about “hope and new beginnings.”<\/p>\n But just days later, Mamdani\u2019s campaign accounts featured the two young kids speaking directly to Mamdani and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.\u00a0<\/p>\n MAMDANI APPEALS TO NON-DEMOCRATS WITH GENERAL ELECTION PUSH, VOWS GOVERNMENT CAN MEET VOTERS’ ‘MATERIAL NEEDS’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Zohran Mamdani featured young children endorsing his bid just days after welcoming families back to school. (Zohran Kwame Mamdani)<\/p>\n In one clip, a girl confidently endorsed him; in another, a boy offered support while Warren<\/a> sat nearby.<\/p>\n “How old is she? So articulate, but she\u2019s so tiny,” one follower said about the little girl.<\/p>\n Critics wondered why Mamdani was using children in his social media ads even as he decried the effects of cellphones and social media on children.<\/p>\n “Why are you using kids to promote your political agenda?” complained another follower commenting on the post featuring the boy’s interview.<\/p>\n One critic wrote: “He can express his personal opinion and promote whomever he wants, using the kids to do it is unacceptable.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani was criticized by Instagram followers after he featured interviews with two kids promoting his bid for City Hall.\u00a0 (Zohran Kwame Mamdani)<\/p>\n Mamdani’s posts featuring the two children also came days before New York Governor Kathy Hochul <\/a>defended the new cellphone restrictions, arguing they will reduce distractions, improve mental health and even protect children during emergencies by preventing location-sharing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hochul discussed the state\u2019s ban on cellphone use in public schools on “Fox News Sunday.”<\/p>\n The new law prohibits smartphones and smartwatches during school hours, except for medical or educational use.<\/p>\n![\"Mamdani](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mamdani_warren_interview_01.jpg\")
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