‘His rivals are crapping themselves’: Why Zohran Mamdani has Trump terrified

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Party’s nominee for New York mayor, has made enemies among Republicans and Democrats due to his left-wing, socialist stance – which has made him hugely popular with voters.
• Mamdani’s advisor Patrick Gaspard tells The News Agents he is “storming the political Bastille” and is not only winning over voters, but also working with big business to make his city a better place.
• Gaspard says that his firm stance on Israel/Gaza has also won over many people, especially in a time when his Democratic Party colleagues reconsider their unapologetic support for Benjamin Netanyahu.

What’s the story?

Donald Trump is running scared – and it’s all over a Muslim politician 46 years younger than him.

The president has already threatened to arrest Zohran Mamdani and made unfounded suggestions the 33-year-old may be in the US “illegally”.

Mamdani is the 2025 Democrat nominee in the race for New York mayor, and wears the Trump threats as an “honour”, according to his friend and informal advisor, Patrick Gaspard.

“We have a figure in office who also happens to be profoundly and nakedly corrupt,” Gaspard tells The News Agents.

“It is a badge of honour to have that as your opposition, and it should be a point of disgrace that some of Zohran's opponents are making direct appeals to Donald Trump for his support.”

Not only has Mamdani upset Republicans, the socialist politician has also made enemies among the Democrat elite, with his rapidly-rising popularity and left-wing positive policies shaking up the traditional, centre-left thinking of his own party.

He’s also pretty good on social media.

Gaspard says the political fight in the US today is not about 'left versus right', but is instead 'insider versus outsider'.

“Mamdani, very much, sits in the outside spectrum, and is storming the political Bastille,” Gaspard adds.

“It's not one individual idea, but this notion that the system is rigged against you, you are not benefiting from these institutions.”

He says Mamdani's is a fight against both conservatives and liberals – anyone who is "guarding" these institutions from other people, and making sure the society is against the average American citizen.

“Many people have been crapping themselves. Not just business leaders, but a lot of traditional political actors have been crapping themselves as well,” he says.

“It's not about any of his individual proposals, it's about where he sits in the zeitgeist.

“Mamdani arrives in the midst of that Zeitgeist and says, ‘the system is indeed rigged against you’."

How Mamdani reaches both voters and business leaders

Mamdani’s campaign for New York mayor is centred on scrapping bus-fares, offering public childcare, freezing rents, building new affordable housing, raising minimum wage, and increasing taxes on corporations and individuals earning more than $1 million per year, among others.

It’s proposals like these that have left his opponents furious – but have cemented his support among the New York population.

“A lot of people are angry, and feeling as if they have no chance to make it at all – in health care, in public education, in the housing zone,” Gaspard adds.

“It's not any individual proposal, but this sense that this is somebody who's completely upsetting the traditional apple cart.”

Gaspard says this shift towards anger came during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, and the realisation from the population that traditional politicians were not able to "rescue us".

But it’s not just the working class that are falling into line to support Mamdani – he is also building relationships with business leaders.

“Zohran is having meaningful conversations with business leaders who don't just care about their tax bracket, but who care about public transportation, public safety, public education,” Gaspard says.

“They understand that their ability to do well as business leaders in New York is dependent on the ability of their workers to maintain their homes and their communities.

“They know they've got to meet Zohran at least halfway.”

Gaspard says Mamdani is making these connections knowing that if he is successful in November, he will need to get business leaders on-side in a city where they are its “lifeblood”.

Will support for Gaza secure Mamdani victory?

Mamdani is also an outspoken advocate for the people of Gaza, and against the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Gaspard says this, and the growing shift in public opinion in America, on the war in the Middle East, has also been key to Mamdani’s success – and the fear he’s struck into some members of the Democratic Party.

“There are many Democrats who are still waking up to the reality of the onslaught in Gaza and what it's meant for them to have extended unconditional support to Benjamin Netanyahu,” Gaspard says.

Gaspard says Mamdani's success and popularity in New York, which has the biggest Jewish population outside of Israel in the world, is testament to the strength of public feeling on the subject, and support for his stance on the conflict.

“The reality of the political divide on Israel/Gaza, inside the Democratic Party, has played a role in hesitation for traditional Democrats to come on board in a fulsome way.

“But many are already taking lessons from his victory, and I see many who are running in America now – some in New York, many around the country – who are mirroring many of the things that Zohran did with his relentless communication, doing everything everywhere all at once, not fearing to just go anywhere, to have difficult conversations, and his ability to take and distill his message into very simple points.

“I think you'll see a shift in many traditional Democrats standing with him behind podiums and saying, this is part of the future of the party.”

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