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5 months ago
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About
Zohran Mamdani is the New York City mayor-elect and member of the New York State Assembly for the 36th district in Queens. Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and won the 2025 New York City mayoral election as the Democratic candidate, defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent.
Born to Ugandan and Indian-American parents in Uganda, Mamdani entered New York City politics in 2015 and later took office in the New York State Assembly in January 2021. Mamdani's 2025 run for mayor of New York City sparked viral memes and reactions on social media sites like Twitter / X, Reddit, TikTok and Instagram, among others.
Background
Zohran Mamdani (33) was born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to New York City with his family at the age of seven. He attended Bronx High School of Science and received a Bachelor's Degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College, graduating in 2014. Mamdani was elected to the New York Assembly in 2020, representing the 36th Assembly District and its neighborhoods of Astoria, Ditmars-Steinway and Astoria Heights.
On June 25th, 2025, Mamdani won New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, among other candidates.
On November 4th, Mamdani declared victory in the 2025 NYC mayoral election, defeating Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and former NY Governor Cuomo, who ran as an independent.
Online History
Rap Career
After graduating from Bowdoin in 2014, Zohran Mamdani began rapping under the moniker Young Cardamom. On September 5th, 2015, Mamdani uploaded the music video for his and HAB's song "Kanda (Chap Chap)" to YouTube, gaining over 166,100 views in 10 years.
Mamdani shared several music videos as Young Cardamom on YouTube in the following years. In 2025, ahead of the 2025 NYC Democratic mayoral primary, his rap videos resurfaced in viral tweets, like on June 13th, 2025, when X user @_uncle_gworl tweeted, "I was today years old when I learned Zohran Mamdani once had a fledgling rap career…" receiving over 14,000 likes in five months.
Campaign Videos
On July 31st, 2024, Zohran Mamdani was a guest on the Instagram page Subway Takes (@subwaytakes) in which his "take" was that NYC Mayor Eric Adams was a terrible mayor and was making NYC more expensive. The video received over 53,500 likes in a year.
The same video was shared on the Subway Takes TikTok page, gaining over 194,200 likes over the same timeframe.
On October 23rd, 2024, Mamdani announced his run for NYC mayor with a Reel shared on his Instagram, @zohrankmamdani, gaining over 7,300 likes in a year.
On October 25th, he shared the video to his TikTok account, @zohran_k_mamdani, gaining over 390 likes in a year. A few months later, on December 7th, 2024, he reposted the video on TikTok, receiving over 61,600 likes in 11 months.
@zohran_k_mamdani Every politician says New York is the greatest city in the world. But what good is that if no one can afford to live here? I’m running for Mayor to lower the cost of living for working class New Yorkers. Join the fight. zohranfornyc.com/donate #nyc #nycmayor #queens #bk #bronx #statenisland #manhattan #politics #elections #socialism #ericadams #democrats #democraticsocialism ♬ original sound – Zohran MamdaniHeading into 2025, Mamdani's campaign videos attracted more views, like on May 18th, he shared a TikTok focusing on bodega owners, among other small business owners in NYC, gaining over 961,400 likes in six months.
On October 20th, 2025, WIRED published an interview with Mamdani, calling him "the Internet's Mayor."
By November 5th, Mamdani had amassed over 2.2 million followers on TikTok and over 5.9 million followers on Instagram.
Online Presence
On March 12th, 2025, X user @mahoneyw tweeted a video of Zohran Mamdani confronting "Border Czar" Tom Homan in Albany, NY, gaining over 6.2 million views and 18,000 likes in eight months.
The video was also posted by X user Libs of TikTok, who wrote, "He just appeared to ASSAULT police and screeched like a maniac to protest Tom Homan deporting criminal illegal aliens. Seems totally normal and stable…" receiving over 2 million views and 46,000 likes in eight months.
In the following weeks, ahead of the NYC Democratic mayoral primary, viral posts about Mamdani continued. For instance, on May 29th, 2025, X user @BNeidhardt quote-tweeted one of Mamdani's campaign ads, writing, "Zohran closed a 40-point gap to within single digits by campaigning on lower costs… Democrats need to CONSOLIDATE behind Mamdani." Over six months, the post gained over 21,000 likes.
Before and after Mamdani won the NYC Democratic mayoral primary in late June 2025, several viral memes and posts surfaced online related to the event. For instance, on June 24th, X user @Nomads4Pritzker tweeted, "White boys who say 'inshallah' showing up to pull the lever for Mamdani," gaining over 23,000 likes in five months.
On June 23rd, 2025, X user @Geiger_Capital tweeted the Norman Rockwell painting Freedom of Speech, captioned, "I don't think America's largest city should be run by a Muslim Socialist," gaining over 82,000 likes in five months.
Later on June 23rd, X user @3lfares quote-tweeted the post, attaching a shirtless, buff edit of the man in Freedom of Speech, captioned, "I think America's largest city should be run by a Muslim Socialist," receiving over 172,000 likes in five months.
Before and after the 2025 NYC mayoral election day on November 4th, 2025, several posts and memes about Zohran Mamdani surfaced online.
For instance, on November 4th, X user @ehjovan quote-tweeted an announcement post about Mamdani's election victory, writing, "Something shifted. Shit's about to get real woke." Over one day, the post received roughly 153,000 likes.
Also on November 4th, X user Bailey Moon (@Baileymoon15) tweeted, "We're allowed to lib out for 24 hours," gaining over 35,000 likes in a day. Notably, days before, Moon stirred backlash and controversy for a quote-tweet about Mamdani ahead of the election.
Various Examples
English (US) ·