The most sought-after fashion item in New York is a “Hot Girls for Zohran” T-shirt, the foxiest souvenir of an improbable campaign. A 34-year-old radical socialist who barely polled one per cent when he launched his run for mayor caught the zeitgeist and will soon be known as “Hizzoner” — New York-speak for His Honour.
Zohran Mamdani will become the first Muslim mayor of New York on January 1, 2026, in charge of a city of 8.5 million people, commanding a budget of $120bn and responsible for nearly 300,000 employees, with barely a shred of experience running anything. There are set to be fireworks, as he and Donald Trump clash over key issues, not least the incompatibility of Mamdani’s global outlook with Trump’s nationalist project. The big unknown for New Yorkers is how vengefully Trump will respond to the threat posed by Mamdani.
