In a landmark election, Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City, making history as the city’s first Muslim, first South Asian, and youngest mayor in over a century. His rousing victory speech included the Arabic greeting “Salam Alaikum,” a moment that ignited viral reactions, with some viewers interpreting it as a sign of radical change and others viewing it as a respectful nod to his heritage. Mamdani ran on a bold progressive agenda focused on affordability, free public transit, rent freezes, and taxing the wealthy — and defeated both major establishment opponents and ingrained political machines. His win is seen as a seismic shift in urban politics and the Democratic Party’s direction.
00:11because we are you or as we say on Steinway Anna minkum wa ilaykum
00:21Trinidadian line cooks and Ethiopian aunties
00:28yes aunties and that is because of you
00:41so before I say anything else I must say this thank you thank you to the next generation
00:51of New Yorkers who refuse to accept that the promise of a better future was a
00:57relic of the past you showed that when politics speaks to you without
01:04condescension we can usher in a new era of leadership we will fight for you
01:12because we are you or as we say on Steinway Anna minkum wa ilaykum
01:20thank you to those so often forgotten by the politics of our city who made this
01:32movement their own I speak of Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas
01:42Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek nurses Trinidadian line cooks and Ethiopian
01:50aunties yes aunties to every New Yorker in Kensington and Midwood and Hunts Point
02:05know this this city is your city and this democracy is yours too
02:14this campaign is about people like Wesley an 1199 organizer I met outside of Elmhurst hospital
02:26on Thursday night a New Yorker who lives elsewhere who commutes two hours each way from Pennsylvania
02:35because rent is too expensive in this city it's about people like the woman I met on the BX 33 years ago who said to me I used to love New York but now it's just where I live
02:50and it's about people like Richard the taxi driver I went on a 15-day hunger
02:59strike with outside of City Hall
03:04who still has to drive his cab seven days a week my brother we are in City Hall
03:12now
03:14this victory is for all of them and it's for all of you the more than 100,000 volunteers who
03:31built this campaign into an unstoppable force because of you we will make this
03:38city one that working people can love and live in again with every door knocked
03:47every petition signature earned and every hard-earned conversation you eroded the
03:54cynicism that has come to define our politics
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