Keep Your Friends Close and Trump Closer: How Zohran Mamdani used the Trump method to win the New York mayoral election

Introduction 

Mayoral elections rarely make international news, but this was not the case for the one recently held in New York City. It seemed as though the whole world was watching in anticipation of the results of the race between former governor Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani (“Mayoral Election Results”, n.d.). In the end, voter turnout was the highest it had been in the last 50 years (Izaguirre & Colvin, 2025), and Mamdani won the election in a landslide victory of 50.4% (“Mayoral Election Results”, n.d.). 

The Democratic Party has been struggling in recent years to invigorate its voter base, largely due to the absence of a leader capable of rallying the kind of support and passion enjoyed by politicians in the Republican Party (Subramanian, 2025). How was Zohran Mamdani, a young, largely unknown politician with minimal party endorsement, able to generate a level of support that had been largely absent within the Democratic Party? The answer may lie with an unlikely personality: Donald Trump. This article will first outline how Mamdani’s election success may be explained by his use of tactics similar to those of Donald Trump. It will then go on to analyse what lessons this result provides for the future Democratic Party in the U.S., as well as European countries with struggling left-wing and centrist parties. 

Mamdani and Trump: Cut from the same cloth 

Mamdani, a 34-year-old self-proclaimed democratic socialist, had been vocal throughout his campaign about his dislike of U.S. President Donald Trump. Despite labeling Trump a “despot” in his victory speech (“The full transcript of Zohran Mamdani’s victory speech”, 2025), Mamdani employed remarkably similar tactics to those used in Trump’s 2024 election campaign. 

Mamdani’s campaign ran on four simple promises: free childcare, a higher minimum wage, faster buses, and a rent freeze (Gabbatt, 2025). Though ambitious, it is unclear how Mamdani plans to achieve these goals, as to do so would require significantly raising taxes, something Governor Kathy Hochul has stated she does not intend to do (Mancini, 2025). Mamdani’s ambitious promises are reminiscent of the sweeping claims made during Trump’s campaign in 2024. For example, Trump’s pledge to end the War in Ukraine has seen little development (“Tracking Trump’s presidential promises”, 2025). Many Democrats in the U.S. have taken a pragmatic approach, focusing on affordability at the expense of other progressive ideals (Stepansky, 2025). However, as seen in the campaigns of both Mamdani and Trump, voters seem to value adherence to ideals more than the execution of promises. 

Similarities between Trump and Mamdani also lie in their voter bases. Mamdani’s supporters, who consist largely of working-class individuals, marginalized groups, and young voters, are dissatisfied with the government and the current economic state of the U.S. Trump supporters experience similar frustrations, with many of his voters being people who had become fed up with the inefficacy and liberal elitism of the Democratic Party (Davis, 2025). Both Trump and Mamdani provided voters with something their respective parties had been previously lacking: a charismatic leader who appeared truly intent on addressing the issues voters found important.

Trump and Mamdani’s appeal to young voters is perhaps best explained by their use of social media. Mamdani’s online campaign included short, easy-to-understand videos, often referencing current pop-culture trends, and displayed his multilingualism and cultural background, features that appealed to the diverse composition of New York voters (Insco, 2025). Furthermore, Mamdani’s resonance with young voters meant that social media content was generated by supporters outside of his campaign, further driving his popularity (Kelly, 2025). 

Similarly, because a large number of his supporters interacted with right-wing political content through social media and other alternative forms of media, Trump was able to garner massive amounts of support during his campaign from people who would not typically be interested in politics (Cortellessa, 2024). Studies have indeed found that a significant group of Trump’s supporters were voters who consumed a large portion of their news from social media (Cousens, 2024). 

Lessons to be learned: Relevance for the U.S. and Europe 

The Democratic Party, which was once synonymous with working-class, marginalized, progressive voters, has in recent years become weak, with many supporters leaving the party (Malik, 2025). After the end of Barack Obama’s presidency, the party has become increasingly fragmented, lacking both a unified ideology and a charismatic party leader. Instead of connecting with voters and making them feel heard while focusing on their proposed solutions, many Democrats have focused on attacking Trump and the Republican Party (Zeitz, 2025). Although Mamdani lacked the support of many Democratic politicians, combined with election victories for the Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia, Mamdani’s win could serve as the unifying force the party has been searching for (Blake, 2025; Schneider, 2025). With the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon, Democrats need to focus on portraying themselves as a cohesive front to stand a chance against Republicans.  

While the influence of the New York City Mayoral elections is clear for the rest of the U.S., its relevance in the European context is more obscure, yet important nonetheless. Many left-wing parties in Europe have been experiencing similar challenges to those faced by the Democrats in the U.S, such as declining support due to the rise of right-wing populist parties (Tait, 2025). Democrats in the U.S. and left-wing parties of Europe alike have often resorted to tactics such as softening their political ideologies and aspirations or aligning with centrist parties to appeal to more moderate voters (Henley, 2024). However, research suggests that by adopting more moderate stances, center-left parties do not actually attract more moderate voters and simultaneously alienate the left-wing base (Polacko, 2023). 

Mamdani’s win may offer a valuable lesson to Europe: the way to compete with right-wing parties is not by appealing to their voter bases, but by taking a page out of their book and remaining ideologically strong and critical of the stances held by the other side. Left-wing parties in Germany and Britain have already capitalized on Mamdani’s widespread support, emphasizing their commitment to remaining ideologically strong in their policies, rather than catering to centrist or right-wing preferences (Demony & Marsh, 2025). 

Conclusion

In an era when right-wing parties are on the rise globally, it is crucial for the continuation of left-wing and centrist parties to use moments of political success as opportunities to learn. Although Zohran Mamdani’s election success may be attributed to his use of unconventional, or even frowned-upon, tactics within the Democratic Party, these may be necessary means for the party's survival. Whether many parties’ reluctance to follow in Trump’s methodological footsteps is wise or naïve remains to be seen.