Zohran Mamdani speaks at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in Brooklyn on election night. ( Angelina Katsanis/AFP via Getty Images)
In his first speech since being elected as New York City’s next mayor, Zohran Mamdani directly challenged President Trump and promised to “dismantle” the system that allowed him to come to power.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” he said.
Mamdani went on to detail his plans to combat corruption and reduce the power of the “billionaire class” in the city.
“We will hold bad landlords to account because the Donald Trumps of our city have grown far too comfortable taking advantage of their tenants. We will put an end to the culture of corruption that has allowed billionaires like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks,” he said.
“This is not only how we stop Trump, it is how we stop the next one,” he added.
In the lead-up to Election Day, Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from the city if Mamdani was elected. He also gave an eleventh-hour endorsement to Mamdani’s opponent, Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani responded to Trump’s threats during his speech on Tuesday night.
“So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to go through all of us,” he said.
