- Safiu Kehinde
Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected first Muslim Mayor of New York City, has challenged the United States President, Donald Trump, in a powerful four words message.
The 34-year-old Democrat, who is of Ugandan-Indian heritage, had in his victory speech challenged Trump to “Turn the Volume Up” as he accused the President of betrayal of the people’s trust.
The 34-year-old Democrat, who is of Ugandan-Indian heritage, had in his victory speech challenged Trump to “Turn the Volume Up” as he accused the President of betrayal of the people’s trust.
Mamdani held that his victory at the President’s city of birth will inspire further stoppage of Trump’s alleged power accumulation in the forthcoming gubernatorial election.
“Donald Trump, since I know you are watching, I have four words for you. Turn the volume up. Afterall, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.
“And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump. It is how we stop the next one.” Mamdani said.
According to the BBC, he will become the first Muslim mayor and the youngest person in more than a century to lead the largest city in the United States.
Mamdani was born in 1991 in Uganda to Indian parents – neither of whom were US citizens at the time – and moved to the US when he was seven years old.
According to the BBC, he will become the first Muslim mayor and the youngest person in more than a century to lead the largest city in the United States.
Mamdani was born in 1991 in Uganda to Indian parents – neither of whom were US citizens at the time – and moved to the US when he was seven years old.
The 34-year-old entered the race last year with next to no name recognition, little money and no institutional party support.
That alone makes his victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa remarkable.
But more than that, he represents the kind of politician that many in the Democratic Party’s left have been seeking for years.
He is young and charismatic, with his generation’s natural comfort with social media.
His ethnicity reflects the diversity of the party’s base. He hasn’t shied away from a political fight and has proudly espoused left-wing causes – such as free childcare, expanded public transportation and government intervention in free market systems.