As Mamdani became mayor of New York City, supporters and detractors alike wondered how a 34-year-old democratic socialist would govern, particularly after he gave an unapologetically progressive inauguration speech in which he vowed to not “abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.”
But in his first weeks, Mamdani has mostly pivoted to a more careful and measured tone, embracing wins even when they don’t exactly fit his vision and holding back in moments where he might have once been more vocal.
At New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State address, Mamdani rose to join a standing ovation when Hochul announced her funding plan for an expansion of pre-kindergarten that partly meets his campaign vision.
He remained seated when she pitched the “transformative investments” without raising taxes — something he and his base have long wanted.
Mamdani’s texts and phone calls to President Donald Trump following their Oval Office meeting have raised eyebrows. But he’s also texting frequently with Hochul, who is among the elected leaders helping him notch early victories on his ambitious agenda.
Having entered office promising an expansion of social services and government programs, Mamdani is now facing tough budget realities that could require more compromise. On Friday, the city comptroller released a report warning the city is facing a $2 billion deficit in the current fiscal year and a projected $10 billion gap in the coming year.
President Donald Trump meets with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House on November 21, 2025.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Much of Mamdani’s mayoralty so far has looked like any other. He’s held multiple events a day and made policy announcements: paving bridge ramps, installing more public bathrooms, and taking moves to cut red tape on housing construction and business. And he and his wife, Rama Duwaji, left their rent-controlled apartment in Queens for Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence on the city’s tony Upper East Side.
Mamdani has been challenged early by police shootings and concerns about how he would address antisemitism, issues that he faced questions about during his campaign.
“The defining characteristic of the first weeks of this new mayor is that he course corrects very quickly,” said Trip Yang, a Democratic political strategist. “You also see him less off the cuff as mayor than he was in the campaign and that is just a function of being in City Hall.”
A defining partnership with the governor
Mamdani and Hochul are eager to move past the traditional acrimony between mayor and governor, notably during the era of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Mamdani has called de Blasio the city’s best mayor during his lifetime and vowed to never say Cuomo’s name again after beating him in November.)
Hochul enters her own reelection campaign this year facing a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. She has sought to focus on affordability and child care as Mamdani did during his campaign while also warning against income tax hikes — and taken some booing and heckling from Mamdani supporters as a result.
Mamdani during a State of the State address with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, not pictured, at Hart Theatre at The Egg in Albany, New York, on January 13.Heather Ainsworth/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Hochul’s plan expands free and low-cost child care for families across New York, building an on-ramp for one of Mamdani’s most ambitious proposals to offer universal child care to every child 6 weeks to 5 years old in New York City.
Political observers and lawmakers, including some who are close with Mamdani, said they do not expect him to back off from his proposal to tax wealthy residents. A group of democratic socialists in the state legislature have already made taxing the rich their primary goal as a new legislative session kicks off.
And shortly after the speech, Mamdani told reporters he remains committed to his push to raise taxes on the wealthiest.
“There is no question that New York City requires additional recurring revenue,” Mamdani said, adding more than a million of his supporters voted in support of “an agenda where we made explicit to pay for by raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and the most profitable corporations, and I look forward to making the case directly to our partners in Albany.”
But one Albany lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about recent conversations with the mayor told CNN they don’t think Mamdani will “wage an ideological fight about tax hikes” if the funds to pay for his child care proposal can be found elsewhere.
Israel and antisemitism
Mamdani has also weathered some controversy.
He immediately reversed executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams that established a definition of antisemitism and barred the city from participating in divestment campaigns against Israel. After the Israeli government and major Jewish community leaders in New York City criticized him, Mamdani addressed the revoked orders by reading from notes at a press conference, a rarity for someone well-known for speaking extemporaneously.
Days later, he waited hours to issue a response after a demonstration outside a synagogue in Queens. Videos posted on social media showed protesters chanting support for Hamas along with “death to the IDF” and “settlers go back home.”
The protest was organized by an activist group outside of an event promoting real estate investment in parts of Israel, including Jerusalem and the West Bank, that Palestinians hope to reserve for a future state.
Mamdani’s delayed initial response compared with elected officials who posted condemnations more quickly caused consternation among some Jewish groups in the city, including supporters who felt the delay was an unforced error.
“This one should have been easy,” one person outside of City Hall who was granted anonymity to discuss conversations told CNN. “It allows critics who want to seize on this even more of an opportunity.”
Mamdani made an initial comment following a press conference, calling the language used by demonstrators “wrong.”
He issued a statement later that day condemning the protest and promising to work with the New York Police Department to ensure people could enter and exit houses of worship while also protecting people’s constitutional right to protest.
Asked again about the incident at a weekend press conference, Mamdani went a step further, referring to Hamas as a terrorist organization while highlighting his “opposition to the sale of land in the occupied West Bank.”
Yang said Mamdani appears to be making a gamble that constituents and key groups will judge him based on his core message of affordability.
“He’s deciding that on an issue like Israel-Palestine, he needs to be accountable to his base while he’s very comfortable making compromises on other issues such as policing, for example,” Yang added.
Yang also noted how quickly Mamdani’s transition reacted after it was revealed a new member of his incoming administration made antisemitic posts on social media a decade ago. Within hours, Mamdani said he had accepted her resignation.
Praise from police
While a state assemblyman, Mamdani was a harsh critic of law enforcement, frequently calling to defund the police and posting tweets that claimed the NYPD was “racist” and “wicked.”
He apologized for those comments during the mayoral campaign and retained Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a move widely lauded by moderates and many of his opponents.
During the campaign, Mamdani said his administration would focus on reforming the NYPD’s emergency response to incidents involving people experiencing mental distress and create a Department of Community Safety, which would help tackle 911 calls and respond to incidents involving people with mental illness.
A pair of fatal police-involved shootings in early January provided an early rhetorical test for Mamdani, with police reform advocates and the NYPD’s rank and file watching closely. In one incident, officers shot and killed a man who had barricaded himself inside a hospital room with a patient and a hospital worker in Brooklyn.
Hours later in Manhattan, police officers encountered a man who had rammed into a car and driven off. Police said when they found the driver, the man pointed a fake pistol at them, after mistaking it for a real handgun, officers opened fire, killing the man.
After the hospital shooting, police officials referred to the suspect as “emotionally disturbed.”
During an unrelated press conference the next morning, Mamdani declined to say how his proposed Department of Community Safety would have responded to the incidents.
“Those are hypotheticals that we will not engage in at this time,” Mamdani said. “What I will tell you is that I am appreciative of the work that the NYPD continues to do in responding to public safety needs.”
Mamdani’s response earned praise from Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association. Hendry issued a statement crediting Mamdani for acknowledging the challenges police officers face and for “refraining from speculating or prejudging the incidents while they are under investigation.”
“He has refrained from speculating or prejudging the incidents while they are under investigation. That is what New York City police officers need to see from all of our elected leaders,” Hendry said.
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