(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) A day after his resounding victory in far-left New York City, self-declared socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was passing the hat around for donations from his billionaire backers.
“Oh, and uh, one more thing. Remember how I told you a few months ago to stop sending us money? You can start again,” Mamdani said in the roughly 85 second clip released Wednesday morning.
“This transition requires staff, research, and an infrastructure that can meet this moment,” he continued. “It’ll be made possible by the people who built and believe in this movement.”
Mamdani soared to victory over disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa on the promise of free stuff—including rent-controlled housing, government-subsidized grocery stores and no-cost public transit.
But many have raised questions as to how he intends to cover the cost, particularly if wealthy residents and businesses opt to flee the state for more favorable economic conditions.
President Donald Trump has said he will only offer New York City the bare minimum in federal financial relief.
Critics have suggested that Mamdani, a hardline Muslim and native of Uganda, may be applying the concept of taqiyya, or the principle that it is OK for Muslims to lie in order to advance the cause of the religion.
He was previously caught in a false claim that his auntie had been afraid to take the subway following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. After it was revealed that his only biological aunt lived in Africa at the time, Mamdani clarified that he was referring to a distant cousin, now deceased.
A photograph of billionaire scion Alexander Soros posing with the mayor-elect further raised questions about whether the privileged foreign national was truly committed to the causes he preached.
So proud to be a New Yorker! The American dream continues!
Congrats, Mayor @ZohranKMamdani 🇺🇸🗽🌊 pic.twitter.com/nvR5Zb46TI
— Alex Soros (@AlexanderSoros) November 5, 2025
Meanwhile, conservatives went so far as to slam Mamdani for having a cash bar at his election-night celebration.
“If you can’t get a free vodka from this guy something tells me the free food and buses ain’t coming. Congrats, suckers,” wrote Fox News host and comedian Jimmy Failla.
Mamdani had a CASH BAR at his victory party. If you can’t get a free vodka from this guy something tells me the free food and buses ain’t coming. Congrats, suckers.
— Jimmy Failla (@jimmyfailla) November 5, 2025
Mamdani, meanwhile, sought to reassure uneasy constituents who doubted his leadership experience by naming several alumna of former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to his all-female transition team.
Among them were former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres–Springer and former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, Politico reported.
“What New Yorkers are looking for is an era of consistency, an era of clarity, an era of conviction, and that is what we will deliver to them,” he said Wednesday.
Mamdani’s promise to involve government in every facet of New Yorkers’ lives left some uneasy.
“We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve and no concern too small for it to care about,” he said in his victory speech.
"We will prove that there is no problem to large for government to solve and no concern too small for it to care about."
Those are terrifying words. pic.twitter.com/EY0qypP3Qy
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) November 5, 2025
He also claimed that his victory marked a dynastic upset in favor of the working class.
However, some poll-watchers noted that his victory was propelled not by blue-collar voters but by privileged elites.
From Mamdani's speech: We're the working people and we're taking charge. (Nice Debs reference off the top.) But look at the results from non-college degree voters. Cuomo won every category of those without a degree. pic.twitter.com/3J6IYpOh5N
— Byron York (@ByronYork) November 5, 2025
Voters with a bachelor’s degree or higher favored Mamdani, while those with only some college experience or less opted to vote for Cuomo.
