Behind the carefully curated online image of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani lies a far pricklier private reality, the New York Post reported Thursday, with more than a dozen elected officials, consultants and political operatives describing a leader who bristles at criticism and reaches out personally to those who question him publicly.
The insiders – who all requested anonymity to protect their working relationships with the mayor – told the New York Post that Mamdani routinely contacts critics after they speak up, nurses grudges against prominent political figures, and typically only returns messages when he is irritated by negative coverage. "I see more and more he cannot handle criticism, but mainly from elected officials who he thinks he can push around," one political consultant told the outlet.
"The mayor personally reaches out when electeds criticizes him publicly. If they speak, then he cares. He cares because he doesn't want bad press. It shows a sensitivity," the consultant added, according to New York Post reporting.
The simmering tension reportedly reached a boiling point after Jewish community leaders in New York City publicly urged Mamdani to "stop fanning the flames of hatred" against Israel, following an alleged antisemitic stabbing on the Upper West Side. The mayor, sources said, personally phoned at least one elected official who had appeared at that news conference – voicing displeasure at being urged to moderate his rhetoric, and particularly at having that call tied to his viral video branding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "war criminal," which had been posted just days prior to the attack.
That two-minute clip – filmed at a desk with the US and New York City flags behind a composed Mamdani – racked up a staggering 100 million views across social media, the New York Post noted. The reach was no accident: Mamdani's command of TikTok and Instagram, where he has amassed 3.5 million and 11.9 million followers respectively, powered his rapid ascent during 2025 from obscure state legislator to the city's next mayor – and into the role of national figurehead for the Democratic Socialists of America.
Since taking office in January, the mayor has poured $53 million into a new "Office of Mass Engagement," an expansion of his already substantial communications apparatus that opponents have characterized as a propaganda machine for City Hall, according to the New York Post. A steady stream of new video content has followed – ranging from a clip filmed outside hedge fund titan Ken Griffin's $200 million Manhattan condominium promoting the DSA's tax-the-rich agenda, to a 13-minute documentary released this week depicting tenants organizing against unresponsive landlords.
Insiders told the New York Post that protecting the DSA's growing political footprint appears to be the central driver of the mayor's touchiness. Another Democratic operative described Mamdani as "tough on staff," noting he frequently holds late-night sessions at Gracie Mansion with his DSA allies. "He's the first DSA [mayor] so they have to show he can manage the city, and any time someone puts a dent in that it hurts their cause," a government insider said.
The mayor's sensitivity extends to even anticipated bad coverage. When Queens Borough President Donovan Richards posted on X in July labeling the DSA "white supremacy," Mamdani dispatched a staffer to Richards' office requesting the post be taken down, sources said. Richards declined, and the resulting New York Post story spotlighted the growing divide between Mamdani's predominantly white DSA coalition and minority lawmakers.
"He's so thin-skinned and reads everything," one City Council member told the New York Post. A Democratic operative was more caustic: "His security blanket is his phone and the dopamine from how many likes he gets on a post. Seems to keep him going."
Posts that drew the mayor's personal attention also included City Councilwoman Virginia Maloney's (D-Manhattan) sharp rebuttal on X to a budget claim, in which she wrote: "I know math is hard." Mamdani reportedly reached out to her after the post went up, sources told the New York Post. "That Virginia Maloney tweet really got under their skin," a source said. The mayor similarly contacted elected officials who publicly opposed a proposed nearly 10% property tax hike, insiders added.
The New York Post also reported last week that Mamdani fumed in silence after being excluded from delivering remarks at the funeral of Army Sgt. Angel Sarah Rampersad in Queens. One Democratic insider described his manner toward those who cross him as a "cold demeanor" – terse and stripped of his trademark warmth. That stands in stark contrast to his typically genial public face, which has extended even to unexpected exchanges with President Donald Trump and to shrugging off boos at a Staten Island anti-crime event this week.
Multiple sources noted that negative press or a critical social media post is the most reliable way to prompt a response from the mayor's office. "They only respond when it's a crisis for them and reaches crisis levels in the press, but before that they don't return calls, texts or emails," one Democratic operative said. "He has been known to hold grudges against whoever challenges him or his positions for even some of the smallest of slights, and those people get sent to the back of the line unless he needs something.
