Zohran Mamdani delivers his powerful victory speech live from New York City, celebrating his historic win as the city’s first Muslim and Indian-American Mayor. In his emotional first reaction, Mamdani thanks NYC voters for believing in change, inclusivity, and justice. He pledges to rebuild trust, prioritize housing and education, and bring accountability to City Hall. The crowd erupts in cheers as he dedicates the win to every New Yorker who “refused to be silenced.”
00:22The sun may have set over our city this evening,
00:27but as Eugene Debs once said,
00:31I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.
00:42For as long as we can remember,
00:45the working people of New York have been told
00:48by the wealthy and the well-connected
00:50that power does not belong in their hands.
00:53Fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor,
01:00palms calloused from delivery bike handlebars,
01:04knuckles scarred with kitchen burns.
01:07These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power.
01:11And yet over the last 12 months,
01:15you have dared to reach for something greater.
01:17Tonight, against all odds,
01:25we have grasped it.
01:29The future is in our hands.
01:35My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.
01:39I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life.
02:01But let tonight be the final time I utter his name.
02:05As we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many
02:12and answers only to the few.
02:19New York,
02:21tonight you have delivered
02:23a mandate for change.
02:27A mandate for a new kind of politics.
02:34A mandate for a city we can afford.
02:39And a mandate for a government
02:41that delivers exactly that.
02:46On January 1st,
02:48I will be sworn in
02:50as the mayor of New York City.
02:52And that is because of you.
03:07So before I say anything else,
03:10I must say this.
03:15Thank you to the next generation of New Yorkers
03:18who refused to accept
03:21that the promise of a better future
03:23was a relic of the past.
03:27You showed that when politics speaks to you
03:30without condescension,
03:32we can usher in
03:33a new era of leadership.
03:37We will fight for you
03:39because we are you.
03:42Or as we say on Steinway,
03:44Anaminkum Wailaikum.
03:53Thank you to those
03:54so often forgotten
03:56by the politics of our city
03:58who made this movement their own.
04:01I speak of
04:02Yemeni bodega owners
04:04and Mexican abuelas.
04:08Senegalese taxi drivers
04:10and Uzbek nurses.
04:11Trinidadian line cooks
04:16and Ethiopian aunties.
04:21Yes, aunties.
04:26To every New Yorker
04:28in Kensington
04:29and Midwood
04:30and Hunts Point,
04:32know this.
04:36This city
04:37is your city
04:38and this democracy
04:39is yours too.
04:41This campaign
04:46is about people
04:47like Wesley,
04:49an 1199 organizer
04:51I met outside
04:52of Elmhurst Hospital
04:53on Thursday night.
04:55A New Yorker
04:56who lives elsewhere,
04:58who commutes
04:59two hours
05:00each way
05:01from Pennsylvania
05:02because rent
05:03is too expensive
05:04in this city.
05:06It's about people
05:08like the woman
05:08I met on the BX33
05:10years ago
05:11who said to me,
05:12I used to love New York
05:14but now it's just
05:16where I live.
05:19And it's about people
05:20like Richard,
05:22the taxi driver
05:23I went on a 15-day
05:25hunger strike with
05:26outside of City Hall.
05:27who still has to drive
05:33his cab
05:33seven days a week.
05:36My brother,
05:37we are in City Hall
05:38now.
05:39This victory
05:47is for all of them
05:49and it's for all
05:51of you.
05:53The more than
05:54100,000 volunteers
05:56who built this campaign
05:59into an unstoppable force.
06:01Because of you
06:03we will make
06:04this city
06:05one that
06:05working people
06:06can love
06:07and live in again.
06:12With every
06:13door knocked,
06:14every petition
06:15signature earned,
06:17and every
06:17hard-earned
06:18conversation,
06:20you eroded
06:20the cynicism
06:21that has come
06:22to define
06:23our politics.
06:28Now I know
06:29that I have asked
06:31for much from you
06:32over this last year.
06:35Time and again
06:37you have answered
06:38my calls.
06:40But I have
06:41one final request.
06:44New York City,
06:47breathe this
06:48moment in.
06:52We have held
06:53our breath
06:53for longer
06:54than we know.
06:56We have held it
06:56in anticipation
06:57of defeat.
06:58held it
06:59because the air
07:00has been knocked
07:01out of our lungs
07:02too many times
07:03to count.
07:04Held it
07:04because we cannot
07:05afford to exhale.
07:07Thanks to all
07:09of those
07:09who sacrificed
07:10so much,
07:11we are breathing
07:12in the air
07:13of a city
07:14that has been
07:15reborn.
07:20To my campaign
07:21team,
07:22who believed
07:23when no one
07:24else did,
07:24and who took
07:28an electoral
07:29project and
07:30turned it
07:30into so much
07:31more,
07:32I will never
07:34be able
07:35to express
07:36the depth
07:36of my gratitude.
07:39You can
07:40sleep now.
07:43To my parents,
07:45Mama and Baba,
07:46you have made
07:52me into the
07:53man I am
07:54today.
07:56I am so
07:57proud to be
07:58your son.
08:02And to my
08:02incredible wife,
08:04Rama,
08:05Hayati,
08:10there is no
08:12one I would
08:13rather have
08:14by my side
08:15in this moment
08:16and in every
08:16moment.
08:20To every
08:21New Yorker,
08:22whether you
08:22voted for me,
08:24for one of my
08:24opponents,
08:25or felt too
08:26disappointed by
08:27politics to
08:27vote at all,
08:28thank you for
08:30the opportunity
08:30to prove myself
08:31worthy of your
08:32trust.
08:36I will wake
08:37each morning
08:38with a singular
08:38purpose.
08:40to make this
08:41city better
08:41for you
08:42than it was
08:42the day before.
08:46There are
08:47many who
08:47thought this
08:48day would
08:48never come,
08:50who feared
08:50that we would
08:51be condemned
08:51only to a
08:52future of less,
08:54with every
08:55election
08:55consigning us
08:56simply to
08:57more of the
08:58same.
08:59And there
09:00are others
09:01who see
09:02politics today
09:02as too cruel
09:03for the flame
09:05of hope to
09:05still burn.
09:07New York,
09:09we have
09:09answered
09:10those fears.
09:14Tonight,
09:15we have
09:15spoken in a
09:16clear voice.
09:17Hope is
09:18alive.
09:23Hope is a
09:24decision that
09:25tens of
09:25thousands of
09:26New Yorkers
09:26made day
09:27after day,
09:28volunteer shift
09:29after volunteer
09:31shift,
09:32despite attack
09:33ad after
09:33attack ad.
09:34more than a
09:37million of
09:38us stood
09:39in our
09:39churches,
09:40in gymnasiums,
09:42in community
09:42centers,
09:43as we filled
09:44in the
09:45ledger of
09:46democracy.
09:48And while we
09:49cast our
09:50ballots alone,
09:51we chose
09:52hope together.
09:53hope over
09:57tyranny,
09:58hope over
09:59big money
10:00and small
10:00ideas,
10:02hope over
10:04despair.
10:06We won
10:07because New
10:07Yorkers allowed
10:08themselves to
10:09hope that the
10:10impossible could
10:11be made
10:12possible.
10:12And we won
10:16because we
10:16insisted that
10:18no longer
10:18would politics
10:19be something
10:20that is done
10:21to us.
10:22Now it is
10:23something that
10:24we do.
10:33Standing
10:33before you,
10:35I think of
10:36the words of
10:36Jawaharlal Nehru.
10:39A moment
10:40comes but
10:41rarely in
10:42history.
10:43When we
10:43step out
10:44from the
10:44old to
10:45the new.
10:46When an
10:46age ends
10:47and when
10:47the soul
10:48of a
10:48nation
10:49long
10:49suppressed
10:50finds
10:50utterance.
10:52Tonight we
10:53have stepped
10:53out from
10:54the old
10:54into the
10:55new.
10:58So let
10:59us speak
11:00now with
11:00clarity and
11:01conviction
11:02that cannot
11:02be misunderstood
11:03about what
11:05this new
11:05age will
11:06deliver and
11:07for whom.
11:09This will
11:09be an
11:10age where
11:11New Yorkers
11:12expect from
11:12their leaders
11:13a bold
11:13vision of
11:14what we
11:14will achieve
11:15rather than
11:16a list of
11:17excuses for
11:18what we are
11:18too timid to
11:19attempt.
11:24Central to that
11:25vision will be the
11:26most ambitious
11:27agenda to tackle
11:28the cost of living
11:29crisis that this
11:31city has seen
11:32since the days of
11:33Fiora LaGuardia.
11:39An agenda that
11:41will freeze the
11:41rents for more
11:42than 2 million
11:43rent-stabilized
11:44tenants.
11:47Make buses
11:48fast and free
11:50and deliver
11:53universal child care
11:54across our city.
11:55years from now
12:01may our only
12:03regret be that
12:05this day took
12:06so long to
12:07come.
12:10This new
12:11age will be
12:12one of
12:12relentless
12:13improvement.
12:14We will hire
12:15thousands more
12:16teachers.
12:17We will cut
12:21waste from a
12:22bloated bureaucracy.
12:23We will work
12:25tirelessly to
12:26make lights shine
12:27again in the
12:29hallways of
12:29NYCHA
12:30developments where
12:31they have long
12:31flickered.
12:35Safety and
12:37justice will go
12:39hand in hand as
12:40we work with
12:40police officers to
12:41reduce crime and
12:43create a department
12:44of community
12:45safety that
12:46tackles the
12:47mental health
12:48crisis and
12:49homelessness
12:49crises head on.
12:53excellence will
12:54become the
12:55expectation across
12:56government, not
12:57the exception.
13:01In this new
13:02age we make for
13:03ourselves, we will
13:05refuse to allow
13:06those who traffic
13:07in division and
13:09hate to pit us
13:10against one
13:11another.
13:14In this moment of
13:15political darkness,
13:17New York will be
13:18the light.
13:18here we believe in
13:24standing up for
13:25those we love.
13:28Whether you are an
13:29immigrant, a member
13:31of the trans
13:32community, one of
13:35the many black
13:35women that Donald
13:36Trump has fired from
13:37a federal job, a
13:40single mom still
13:42waiting for the cost
13:43of groceries to go
13:44down, or anyone
13:47else with their
13:48back against the
13:49wall, your struggle
13:51is ours too.
13:55And we will build a
13:57city hall that
13:58stands steadfast
14:00alongside Jewish
14:01New Yorkers and
14:02does not waver in
14:04the fight against
14:05the scourge of
14:05anti-Semitism.
14:06where the more
14:10than one million
14:10Muslims know that
14:12they belong.
14:16Not just in the
14:17five boroughs of
14:18this city, but in
14:20the halls of power.
14:24No more will New
14:26York be a city where
14:28you can traffic in
14:29Islamophobia and win
14:30an election.
14:31This new age will
14:43be defined by a
14:44competence and a
14:45compassion that have
14:47too long been placed
14:48at odds with one
14:49another.
14:50We will prove that
14:52there is no problem
14:53too large for
14:54government to solve
14:55and no concern too
14:57small for it to care
14:58about.
14:59For years, those in
15:03city hall have only
15:04helped those who can
15:06help them.
15:07But on January 1st,
15:09we will usher in a
15:11city government that
15:12helps everyone.
15:17Now I know that
15:18many have heard our
15:20message only through
15:21the prism of
15:22misinformation.
15:24Tens of millions of
15:25dollars have been
15:26spent to redefine
15:28reality.
15:29and to convince our
15:30neighbors that this
15:31new age is something
15:33that should frighten
15:33them.
15:36As has so often
15:37occurred, the
15:39billionaire class has
15:40sought to convince
15:41those making $30 an
15:43hour that their
15:43enemies are those
15:45earning $20 an hour.
15:48They want the people
15:50to fight amongst
15:51ourselves so that we
15:52remain distracted from
15:54the work of
15:55remaking a long
15:56broken system.
15:58We refuse to let
16:01them dictate the
16:02rules of the game
16:03anymore.
16:05They can play by the
16:07same rules as the
16:08rest of us.
16:13Together, we will
16:14usher in a generation
16:16of change.
16:17And if we embrace this
16:19brave new course,
16:21rather than fleeing
16:22from it, we can
16:23respond to oligarchy and
16:25authoritarianism with the
16:27strength it fears, not the
16:29appeasement it craves.
16:30others.
16:35After all, if anyone can
16:38show a nation betrayed by
16:39Donald Trump how to
16:41defeat him, it is the
16:42city that gave rise to
16:44him.
16:49And if there is any way to
16:51terrify a despot, it is by
16:53dismantling the very
16:54conditions that allowed him
16:56to accumulate power.
17:00This is not only how we
17:02stop Trump, it's how we
17:04stop the next one.
17:10So, Donald Trump, since I
17:13know you're watching, I
17:16have four words for you.
17:19Turn the volume up.
17:21We will hold bad landlords to
17:46account because the Donald
17:48Trumps of our city have grown
17:50far too comfortable taking
17:52advantage of their tenants.
17:56We will put an end to the
17:57culture of corruption that
17:59has allowed billionaires like
18:01Trump to evade taxation and
18:03exploit tax breaks.
18:07We will stand alongside
18:09unions and expand labor
18:11protections because we know
18:15just as Donald Trump does that
18:18that when working people have
18:20ironclad rights, the bosses who
18:22seek to extort them become very
18:24small indeed.
18:29New York will remain a city of
18:32immigrants, a city built by
18:34immigrants, powered by
18:37immigrants, and as of tonight, led
18:44by an immigrant.
18:59So hear me, President Trump, when I
19:03say this, to get to any of us, you
19:06will have to get through all of us.
19:16When we enter City Hall in 58 days,
19:20expectations will be high.
19:23We will meet them.
19:28A great New Yorker once said that
19:30while you campaign in poetry, you
19:32govern in prose.
19:35If that must be true, let the
19:38prose we write still rhyme and let
19:40us build a shining city for all.
19:46And we must chart a new path as
19:49bold as the one we have already
19:50traveled.
19:52After all, the conventional wisdom
19:54would tell you that I am far from
19:56the perfect candidate.
19:58I am young, despite my best
20:01efforts to grow older.
20:03I am Muslim.
20:08I am a democratic socialist.
20:15And most damning of all, I refuse to
20:18apologize for any of this.
20:20And yet, if tonight teaches us
20:27anything, it is that convention has
20:30held us back.
20:33We have bowed at the altar of
20:35caution and we have paid a mighty
20:37price.
20:39Too many working people cannot
20:41recognize themselves in our party.
20:44And too many among us have turned to
20:47the right for answers to why they've
20:49been left behind.
20:51We will leave mediocrity in our
20:53past.
20:55No longer will we have to open a
20:58history book for proof that
20:59Democrats can dare to be great.
21:04Our greatness will be anything but
21:07abstract.
21:09It will be felt by every rent
21:11stabilized tenant who wakes up on the
21:13first of every month.
21:17Knowing the amount they're going to
21:19pay hasn't soared since the month
21:21before.
21:23It will be felt by each grandparent who
21:26can afford to stay in the home they
21:27have worked for.
21:30And whose grandchildren live nearby
21:33because the cost of child care didn't
21:36send them to Long Island.
21:37It will be felt by the single mother who is safe on her commute and whose bus runs fast enough that she doesn't have to rush school drop-off to make it to work on time.
21:50And it will be felt when New Yorkers open their newspapers in the morning and read headlines of success, not scandal.
22:02Most of all, it will be felt by each New Yorker when the city they love finally loves them back.
22:12Together, New York, we're going to freeze the
22:21Together, New York, we're going to make buses fast and
22:27Together, New York, we're going to deliver a universal
22:32Let the words we've spoken together, the dreams we've dreamt together, become the agenda.
Be the first to comment