Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old Shiite Muslim candidate, defeated Andrew Cuomo Tuesday in the New York City mayoral election. The victory of the Democratic Socialist and anti-Israel candidate made waves among media outlets in the US and around the world.
The right-wing American newspaper New York Post, published its cover last night on its X account after the vote count was announced, showing Mamdani's head placed on a body wielding a hammer and sickle – symbols of communism. Next to the illustration, "The Red Apple" was written in large letters, and beyond the satirical wordplay in the headline itself, the letter R was written as a mirror image, in accordance with letters in the Russian language. "Get your Marx, get set, Zo!" was written above the headline, playing on the classic 'on your mark, get set, go' race starter, referencing Mamdani's socialist agenda. The Wall Street Journal, in a contradicting vein, wrote in its editorial, "Zohran Mamdani captures New York", explaining: "For the sake of America's largest city, let's hope it's the former. The Big Apple has been in a downward slide since Mike Bloomberg left office and two decades of largely good governance ended. Bill de Blasio let crime return with a vengeance, and a succession of governors raised taxes multiple times. Homeless occupy subway trains and street corners. Housing is unaffordable for the young as rent control hampers development and upkeep." The editorial board added, "We'll soon learn if the 34-year-old Assemblyman has a pragmatic streak or sees his mission as making the city that never sleeps a socialist lab experiment." It stressed that Mamdani was propelled to power by successfully highlighting the problems plaguing the city after successive Democratic establishment mayors have failed to address them, but that his real test will come in delivering positive change, which is unachievable if he is to focus on socialist policies. "They voted for hope, not more of the same, but they may get the same only more so if Mr. Mamdani tries to implement his policies of free buses, limits on policing, much higher taxes, and tighter rent control," the editorial warned.
The British Daily Mail ran its morning cover with the headline "Seeing Red" above Mamdani's photo. The cover's text stated: "Socialist takes New York."
In contrast, The New Yorker magazine's cover took a sharply different tone, showing an illustration of Mamdani in the center of a subway car together with the distribution of New York society, in which an Orthodox Jew appears, citizens of all skin tones, and those carrying New York markers like an "I heart NY" bag or New York Yankee caps, with the site's lead article titled "The Mamdani Era Begins."
The British newspaper The Telegraph featured the headline "Trump's worst nightmare wins in New York" alongside a photo of Mamdani's victory.
