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<\/p>\nOvernight sensation Zohran Mamdani has a lot in common with another telegenic young politician from an activist background who skyrocketed to fame on the strength of his charisma.<\/p>\n
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Zohran Mamdani speaks directly to Trump in Fox News interview<\/p>\n
Zohran Mamdani, the leading candidate in New York City’s mayoral race, appeared on Fox News for the first time and addressed President Trump.<\/p>\n
NEW YORK \u2212 According to his friend Kenny Burgos, Zohran Mamdani<\/a>\u2019s historic campaign to lead New York City began with him musing about who from the Democratic Socialists of America should challenge centrist Mayor Eric Adams.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani, 34, was then a fresh-faced first-term state Assembly member. Burgos, a fellow freshman, sat next to him in the state Capitol in Albany.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018it should be you,\u2019\u201d Burgos told USA TODAY. \u201cI said, \u2018there\u2019s not a single person in the DSA that has a higher level of ability to run for office.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n More: <\/strong>‘Our country has failed them.’ Zohran Mamdani talks to USA TODAY about younger voters.<\/a><\/p>\n Much to the chagrin of the landlords that Burgos now works for \u2212 he is CEO of the New York Apartment Association \u2212 Mamdani stands at the precipice of becoming mayor of the nation\u2019s largest city. Polls show Mamdani<\/a>, the Democratic nominee, leading former Gov. Andrew Cuomo<\/a>, who is running as an independent, by double digits, with Republican Curtis Sliwa a distant third.<\/p>\n As he rides an affordability-focused platform to national super-stardom, the overnight sensation reminds some political observers of another telegenic young politician, this one an Illinois state senator who skyrocketed to fame 20 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe is, like a young Obama, very compelling, has a great back story,\u201d political analyst Ross Barkan said. \u201cHe has a real charm, a way with people. He has great social media, but you need the charm to make the social media work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Much like former President Barack Obama, Mamdani has become the target of Islamophobic insults from opponents<\/a>, such as Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has called him “Jihadist and terrorist sympathizer Commie Mamdani.” Congressional Republican leaders<\/a> have even begun blaming him for the federal government shutdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n More: <\/strong>Bloomberg, congressional centrists back Cuomo to block Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor<\/a><\/p>\n But Mamdani remains personally liked<\/a> by many of his adversaries, whose public attacks he brushes off his shoulder like fellow-hip hop fan Obama famously did, in an homage to Jay-Z<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mamdani’s ability to rise above the attacks shows that a new electorate in New York City \u2212 more ethnically diverse and ideologically progressive \u2212 has changed the rules. No longer does one have to be a steadfast supporter of Israel or aligned with the powerful real estate industry to become mayor.<\/p>\n Just as Obama showed a Black man with a Muslim middle name could be president, Mamdani shows an actual Muslim and self-described socialist can conquer the capital of capitalism.<\/p>\n Hip-hop and high rent<\/p>\n As young legislators, Mamdani and Burgos bonded over a love of hip-hop, creating a joint Spotify playlist of weed-themed songs to celebrate the passage of marijuana legalization in New York state. It \u201cspoke to the difference in approach and ability \u2212 and desire to \u2212 connect to a younger base of constituents (and) engage folks in the political process,\u201d Burgos said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Candidates for New York mayor face off in final debate<\/p>\n Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani, and Curtis Sliwa clashed over Trump, housing, crime, and sexual harassment claims.<\/p>\n That connection to younger voters is apparent at Mamdani’s rallies, which draw thousands of supporters and can include uncommon features like the clever use of hip-hop \u2212 such as when former Federal Trade Commissioner Lina Khan, who’s known for taking on Big Tech, walked on stage in mid-October to the tune of Warren G’s “Regulate.”<\/a><\/p>\n “I’ve heard this again and again from older New Yorkers, that it was a younger family member who came up to them and first made the case about why it was time for a change,” Mamdani told USA TODAY<\/a> on Oct. 31. “And I just so appreciate these younger voters, because again and again \u2212 while they’ve been spoken to with such condescension in our politics \u2212 they’ve shown that they can, in fact, be at the heart of a new kind of politics that puts working people at the heart of it.”<\/p>\n While Burgos now opposes Mamdani\u2019s candidacy due to the democratic socialist\u2019s signature proposal to freeze rents in the city\u2019s nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, he and Mamdani remain friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Listening to New Yorkers’<\/p>\n A lot of politicians follow a common trajectory: go to law school, work in a legislative office or as an attorney, and then run for office. Among his fellow New York Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jerry Nadler embody the archetype.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani is not one of those politicians.\u00a0<\/p>\n He came up as a grassroots social justice activist. At Bowdoin College, instead of joining the College Democrats, he founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.\u00a0<\/p>\n After graduating with a degree in Africana studies, he tried his hand at rapping<\/a>. That performing experience and an irreverent sensibility is reflected in the widely popular social media videos that powered his early rise in the polls (a famous one showed him diving into the Atlantic Ocean in winter to demonstrate his commitment to freezing the rent).<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s a good mimic, he’s good at doing voices,\u201d Barkan, whose 2018 state Senate campaign Mamdani managed, told USA TODAY. \u201cHe’s a fun guy.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/86851238007-20251023-vpc-takeaways-from-the-final-nyc-mayoral-debate-thumb-00-00-01-00-still-004.jpg\"\/)
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