London Mayor Sadiq Khan is once again clashing with Donald Trump, this time over the stunning election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s new mayor. Khan praised Mamdani’s win as a “victory of hope over fear,” comparing it to London’s own stand against Trump’s divisive politics.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic socialist and state assemblyman, pulled off a major upset Tuesday night, defeating former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. With 90% of votes counted, he held a 9% lead, and the city’s Board of Elections reported the highest turnout for a mayoral race in over 50 years, with more than two million ballots cast.
When he takes office on January 1, Mamdani will make history as New York’s first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian descent, the first born in Africa, and the youngest in more than a century. Born in Uganda to Indian parents, he became a U.S. citizen in 2018 and ran his campaign on affordability, progressive reform, and returning power to working-class New Yorkers struggling with high costs of living.
Khan congratulated Mamdani on X, writing, “New York has followed London in choosing hope over fear in electing Democrat Zohran Mamdani as the city’s new mayor. New Yorkers faced a clear choice – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London, hope won.”
His post didn’t sit well with everyone in Washington. Khan and Trump have a long-running feud that dates back to 2016, when Trump introduced his “Muslim ban.” Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, blasted the policy as “hateful and divisive.”
Trump hit back with insults, calling Khan a “stone cold loser” and “very stupid.” The back-and-forth only escalated after the London Bridge terror attack in 2017, when Trump mocked Khan’s call for calm, tweeting, “We must stop being politically correct and protect the Constitution.”
Their rivalry turned into a spectacle in 2018 when Khan approved the flight path for the giant Trump baby blimp during Trump’s visit to London. Later, Trump even suggested Khan should be “impeached” over crime rates in London.
Trump had publicly endorsed Cuomo in the New York race, calling him the “only adult in the room,” but lashed out after Mamdani’s win. On Truth Social, he wrote, “Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self-professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!”
The attack referenced Mamdani’s outspoken criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which he has called genocide. He’s also said he would honor an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump went further, labeling Mamdani a “Communist candidate who will cause total collapse in New York City” and threatening to withhold federal funds, deport him, and even take over the city. Late Tuesday night, as results rolled in, Trump ominously posted, “…AND SO IT BEGINS!”
During his victory speech in Brooklyn, with Bad Bunny blasting through speakers, Mamdani addressed the former president head-on. “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” he said to cheers. “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”
Cuomo, who left office in 2021 after denying multiple sexual harassment allegations, admitted defeat, saying the election was “a caution flag that we are headed down a dangerous, dangerous road.” Sliwa, the Republican candidate, conceded soon after, adding, “Good luck to Mr. Mamdani, because if he does well, we do well.”