How Indian-origin Zohran Mamdani used the Trump playbook to beat Andrew Cuomo - and become Democratic Mayoral Nominee
The Trump of TikTok—Minus the Tan
In a political shocker that would make Mar-a-Lago jealous, 33-year-old Zohran Mamdani has defeated Andrew Cuomo to win the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. Armed not with a party machine but a ring light, Mamdani channelled the Trump playbook—minus the racism, plus the rent freeze—and turned vibe into victory.
Let's be clear: this wasn't a campaign. It was a social-media insurgency, scripted by Karl Marx, shot by Mira Nair, and edited on TikTok.
He studied Trump's script and flipped the ideology.
Donald Trump didn't just break the political mould—he shattered it with a Twitter feed and a MAGA hat. He turned every rally into performance art, every scandal into a storyline, and every insult into a headline. Mamdani took that same understanding—that politics is now pure spectacle—and swapped the anger for aspiration.
Like Trump, he didn't drown voters in policy. He made them feel something. Trump had chants and nicknames.
Mamdani had reels and subway beats. Both knew that in an attention economy, coherence is optional—what matters is dominance of the feed. One built a wall of grievance. The other, a montage of hope.
Trump 2016
Donald Trump's 2016 primary run was defined by his ruthless use of Twitter and an instinct for spectacle that shattered political convention.
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Undo
He bulldozed a crowded Republican field—mocking Jeb Bush as 'low energy,' ridiculing Marco Rubio as a 'choke artist,' and branding Ted Cruz 'Lyin' Ted'—turning insults into headlines and tweets into strategy. While others played by the rules, Trump made up his own, bypassing traditional media and speaking directly to millions through his feed.
He transformed debates into made-for-TV brawls and campaign rallies into stadium-sized performances, reducing policy to punchlines and elevating politics into a daily, chaotic spectacle.
Who Is Zohran Mamdani?
The son of postcolonial theorist Mahmood Mamdani and legendary filmmaker Mira Nair, Zohran Mamdani was born in Uganda, raised in New York, and trained in Astoria's political trenches. As a democratic socialist assemblyman, he made his name on housing justice, transit reform, and progressive causes.
But it wasn't his platform that won. It was the performance. The myth-making. The energy. He understood what Trump knew early on: politics is entertainment.
Elections are theatre. Content is king.
Mamdani just gave it a Brooklyn accent and an Instagram filter.
Policy? Sure. But Make It Viral.
Yes, he has an agenda. A very left one.
Rent freeze on stabilised units.
200,000 social housing units over 10 years.
Fare-free buses, faster trains, fewer cars.
Tax hikes on the wealthy and elite universities to fund public childcare and free CUNY tuition.
Community safety over policing.
LGBTQ+ funding, gender-affirming care, and an Office for Queer Affairs.
And on foreign policy? A vocal backer of Palestinian rights, BDS supporter, and critic of Israel's Gaza policies.
But the real success? He didn't explain all this. He vibed it. Like Trump, who never published a white paper but made you feel something, Mamdani crafted mood more than message. And Gen Z showed up.
Cuomo Brought a Knife to a Meme Fight
Andrew Cuomo, former governor and comeback specialist, thought favours and name recognition would carry him.
But he was playing by old rules.
He brought endorsements. Mamdani brought edits. Cuomo parked his Dodge Charger. Mamdani parachuted in with drone footage. One was running for office. The other was producing a vertical-format revolution.
And when it came to the issue of Israel—a potential Achilles heel for Mamdani—he did what Trump would do: deflect, distract, and deliver just enough ambiguity to keep everyone guessing.
The Times clutched pearls. The Post clutched its usual megaphone. Mamdani? He uploaded a Reel with the caption: 'I'm here to fight for dignity. Everywhere.'
3.1 million views. Cuomo's press release? Zero engagement.
What Happens Now?
Mamdani heads into the general election against Republican Curtis Sliwa, a few independents, and possibly Cuomo if he goes rogue. But the script has already flipped. For decades, New York was ruled by machines—Tammany Hall, Bloomberg's billions, the Cuomo dynasty.
But in 2025, the city's future belongs to content strategists, not campaign strategists. The new political bosses don't organise fundraisers. They organise Discord servers.
Why It Matters
This wasn't just a primary. It was a generational and ideological rupture. Mamdani's win is what happens when Trump's style fuses with left-wing substance. When grievance politics are replaced by aspirational storytelling. When the kids stop waiting for permission and start livestreaming their own revolution.
If elected in November, Mamdani wouldn't just be New York's first Muslim or Indian-origin mayor. He'd be the first mayor to truly rule from the feed.
The Trump era taught us politics was about performance. Mamdani just updated the genre. No red caps. Just red captions. No wall-building. Just storyboarding. And like any great performer, he's just getting started.
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