MAGA erupts with Islamophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani
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Mamdani celebrates his victory with his mother (left), wife (right) and father. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
MAGA influencers exploded over Zohran Mamdani's upset victory in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, launching a wave of racist and Islamophobic attacks against the 33-year-old democratic socialist.
Why it matters: Mamdani who would be New York's first Muslim mayor if elected, is of Indian ancestry, was born in Uganda and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. He's quickly becoming a MAGA boogeyman as much for his faith and background as for his left-wing politics.
- Police were already investigating hate-related threats against Mamdani in the days leading up to Tuesday's election, where he was on track to defeat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
- Mamdani, whose has drawn criticism for his pro-Palestinian activism, has repeatedly condemned antisemitism and pledged to be a mayor for all New Yorkers.
What they're saying: "It's sad in that in one sense it's unsurprising, and in another, it is still deeply disappointing to see what politics has become in this moment," Mamdani told MSNBC's Jen Psaki in an interview Wednesday.
- "I've spoken to many Muslims across this city who have shared that their fear of being essentially branded a terrorist, just by living in public life, is one that keeps them preferring life in the shadows," he continued.
- Mamdani went on to say that he sees his victory as "an opportunity for me to introduce the fact that being Muslim is like being a member of any other faith: It is believing and belonging in the notion of equality and in solidarity."
Driving the news: MAGA activists flooded social media with past statements from Mamdani on Israel, defunding the police, socialism and more, casting him as a radical who will destroy America's largest city.
- But many went further, fixating on his Muslim faith and immigrant background to make the racist argument that his victory signaled something darker — a backsliding into "third world" decline.
Donald Trump Jr. reposted a tweet that read: "I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it."
- "New York City has fallen," the president's son wrote.
Charlie Kirk, a prominent podcaster and White House ally, posted on X: "24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11. Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City."
- "It's not Islamophobia to notice that Muslims want to import values into the West that seek to destabilize our civilization. It's cultural suicide to stay silent," Kirk added.
The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh claimed that New York isn't "an American city anymore by any reasonable definition" because immigrants make up nearly 40% of its population," which he called "a tragedy and disgrace."
- Anti-Islam conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, whose views are influential in the Trump administration, baselessly predicted that Mamdani's win would lead to terrorism in New York City.
Between the lines: Mamdani's biography seemed primed to trigger a MAGA movement that sees itself as a frontline fighter in a war to protect the country's Judeo-Christian values.
- Beyond promoting Trump's agenda, MAGA influencers spend much of their time sounding the alarm over multiculturalism and anti-Western sentiment, which they portray as dark forces fueled by both legal and illegal immigration.
- "NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration," White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller posted on X.
The big picture: National Republicans see an opportunity to use Mamdani's victory — and his democratic socialist politics — to paint the entire Democratic Party as dangerously out of touch.
- Mamdani's criticisms of Israel and refusal to denounce the phrase "globalize the intifada" became flashpoints in the final weeks of the campaign, especially in a city with one of the largest Jewish populations in the world.
- Mamdani was emotional last week as he addressed the threats he's received during the campaign: "I get messages that say: 'The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim,'" he revealed. "I get threats on my life, on the people that I love."
What to watch: Mamdani is likely to face incumbent Eric Adams, who's running as an independent, and other candidates in the Nov. 2 general election.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comment from Donald Trump Jr. and Mamdani.
