March Edition 2026: Zohran Mamdani: Is A Friend To All, A Friend to None?

“The name is Mamdani, M-A-M-D-A-N-I. You should learn how to say it.” This jingle has been making waves in the media as 34 year old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has recently stepped up as Mayor of New York City. With a population of 8.5 million “friends”, this metropolis is the hotspot for numerous pressing world affairs such as global finance, culture, and diplomacy. As of January 1st, 2026, Mamdani is the mayor, taking the oath using his grandfather’s Quran, repping his South Asian and Muslim pride. 

"New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant," stated Zohran directly to President Trump in his victory speech. It’s not a cakewalk to run a city of such stature. Can a dimple and a promise for equality get the job done? 

Contrary to popular belief, he did not spring out of the womb with his iconic beard and pressed suit. He was born in Kampala, Uganda on October 18, 1991 to the award-winning filmmaker Mira Nair, and renowned Columbia professor Mahmood Mamdani. The former has directed movies like Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala, and other Indian-American fusion movies. Mahmood Mamdani is an anthropology professor at Columbia University and holds many other academic positions. Recently there have been speculations on Zohran’s eligibility for mayor due to claims of nepotism since his parents are insanely successful in their respective fields. For reference, nepotism is “ favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship,” as defined by Merriam-Webster. To reinforce the matter, Mamdani has only held a job for around three years in between graduating from Bowdoin College in 2014 and joining the New York State Assembly in 2020. Spending his early childhood in the breathtaking city of Cape Town, South Africa and later moving to New York City, attending school in high-tuition institutions such as the private Bank Street School for Children and the Bronx High School of Science, he wasn’t exactly underprivileged. 

The people of New York have spoken up, political strategist Hank Sheinkopf questioning,”What does this guy know? He’s a make-believe character who has no idea how the city works, how to run a jail, how to run a subway system…” Currently, Mamdani has no response to these claims, famously avoiding the question in January 2026 when asked in his administration. Though in 2016 when he worked with his mother on her movie titled Queen of Katwe, Mamdani joked,“I actually created a playlist for Mira, who also happens to be my mother—you know, nepotism and hard work goes a long way.” So that leaves it up in the air, is he fit or not? He sure can talk, let’s see if he can satisfy all his promises, or if he’ll be way in over his head. 

Now, how did the man of the hour get elected in the first place—the brains behind the Mamdani administration. It all began in the 2025 mayoral race for NYC, Mamdani running against republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and undecided Andrew Cuomo. U.S. Senator, Bernie Sanders, noted, “Zohran Mamdani is modeling a different kind of politics. As mayor, Zohran will be a champion for the working people of New York. That idea might frighten the establishment and the billionaire class, but it is precisely why more than 100,000 volunteers turned out to enthusiastically support his campaign.” Democrats hope his “secret sauce” can spread throughout America in their battle to resist Trump. 

Mamdani is a democratic-socialist—not to be confused with a democrat—meaning he advocates for a democratic political system and a socially owned economy, striving to replace capitalism with a system where workers and consumers control the economy. On the other hand, Democrats generally are in support of a capitalist economy while Democratic Socialists mean to reform the entire system using public or cooperative ownership of major industries. Basically the Democrats’ radical younger sibling. Specifically, this is how Mamdani took the world by storm in his campaign. First, Mamdani was focused on appealing to younger voters and working-class New Yorkers, especially immigrants. To mirror this, he pushed increasing affordability amidst the current housing crisis and cost of living in NYC. His strategy to really push the progressive identity was his grassroots organizing and strong social media presence. Regarding the former, grassroots organizing in simple terms is when a campaign grows from regular people supporting it, not from powerful insiders. In Mamdani’s case, he mobilized everyday New Yorkers through volunteers, community outreach, and small donations rather than relying mainly on wealthy donors or political insiders. As for social media, like you haven’t seen the millions of reels of Mamdani strolling through the streets of New York connecting with the people of the Big Apple. All of these together crafted the perfect narrative for the 34-year old mayor, really selling his brand.

In his term so far, Mamdani has been working hard towards meeting his ambitious agenda. Right off the bat, in the first week alone, he issued 12 executive orders striving to solve the housing crisis, protect consumers, and enable New Yorkers into the governing process. Nothing’s getting in this young mayor’s way, as on his first day alone he signed an order to create a tenant protection office to identify city-owned land for affordable housing development. Beyond housing, Executive Order 9 removes hidden fees that inflate prices at checkout, and Executive Order 10 helps people combat subscription traps. In addition, Mamdani issued an order requiring every city agency to identify a chief savings officer to face the 12 billion dollar budget shortfall. And last but not least, Mamdani began workshopping plans for city shelter compliance and banning solitary confinement in city jails. Mamdani has yet to fund his earlier far off promises such as free buses and universal childcare due to resistance in D.C.. New Yorkers are for the most part looking forward to what comes next out of the Mamdani administration.

Though we are 2,924 miles away from Zohran’s bustling city, his policies and goals could potentially be the future of the nation as a whole. I was curious to see what the people at Hopkins had to say about the young mayor by giving them a brief explanation of him and what he believes. They then shared. 

One 8th grade student Nikita Das stated,”I think it’s really cool he’s for the people and 34 is definitely not too young to lead a city. But I’m a bit skeptical about the whole ‘free buses’ and ‘universal healthcare.’ Wouldn’t that just disbenefit people who work hard? ” 

Another 8th grade student, Sahana Pandya, mirrored her response by questioning, “His policies would create unnecessary debt—he should just provide people with jobs instead. Wouldn’t these things just make the city drown in debt?”

8th grader, Aishvari Jayanti was in support of Mamdani saying,”I really like what he’s doing and I think his fresh perspectives can make a difference, people just can’t see it yet.”

I asked a teacher at Hopkins, Señor Perez, what he thought of Mamdani. He shared,”I like how Zohran Mamdani is putting the people first and at the same time attempting to create policies that will benefit all the residents of New York." It’s safe to say that opinions are mixed here at Hopkins, kind of giving us an idea of what the whole world is thinking right now. Can this man with a dream really fulfill his promises and change one of the world’s most prominent cities?