Just days after making history as New York City’s first Muslim mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani faces an unprecedented threat: the President of the United States has suggested stripping him of his citizenship.
On Nov. 4, 34-year-old Mamdani won a decisive victory over Independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. When he takes office on January 1, 2026, he will be New York’s first Muslim, first South Asian, first African-born, and first Millennial mayor.
“The conventional wisdom would tell you I am far from perfect,” Mamdani told supporters on election night. “I am young, Muslim, a democratic socialist, and I refuse to apologize for any of it.” His grassroots campaign focused on affordability, including free public bus service, universal childcare, and rent freezes on stabilized apartments, stunning national observers despite well-funded opponents.
Mamdani came to the U.S. from Uganda in 1998 at age seven and became a citizen in 2018, enabling his run for office.
Even before Election Day, he faced backlash. In June 2025, he vowed to “stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors,” prompting sharp responses from former President Donald Trump, who called Mamdani a “nut job” and claimed he might be in the U.S. illegally. Mamdani responded: “The President just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported… We will not accept this intimidation.”
As Election Day neared, Trump continued attacks online, calling Mamdani a “self-proclaimed New York City Communist” who would “have problems with Washington.” Other Republican figures, like Congressman Andy Ogles, demanded investigations into Mamdani’s citizenship, accusing him of lying on his naturalization application—claims legal experts say are baseless.
Despite the threats and scrutiny, Mamdani remains defiant. “To get to any of us,” he said on election night, “you will have to get through all of us.”