By Cindy Bregin Crouch
Emmy Winning Investigative Reporter
November 6, 2025
Anyone who didn’t see the Zohran Mamdani win coming needs to have their eyes checked. The signs were so obvious. Momdani was running against two older white guys. Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa just didn’t have the energy or the excitement of the much younger Democratic Socialist. If Trump hates someone this intensely, then you know something is up. Vance even got in on the act, chastising Momdani for his remarks about his aunt losing her will to leave the house after 9/11.
Secondly, Momdani was on fire. His campaign burned so brightly. He seemed so confident, so happy, and so sure of himself. Momdani was acting like he was already in office. His smile was burning a hole into my living room 24/7. It was like he could feel it. I could feel it flying through the TV screen right in. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. This guy was burning brightly during the final month of his campaign. He conducted himself with an ever-constant air of authority. He believed he was winning. If he had a doubt in his mind, he never broadcast it. Momdani had the swagger of a winner.
Flash forward to the weekend before the election. The anticipated final run at Momdani the Republicans promised never seemed to materialize. Their attack efforts just seemed to fall flat. We were basically promised Momdani would be run out of town with his tail behind his legs. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cuomo seemed power hungry and out of it. Sliwa, while admirable, just did not appear to be ready to serve. Sad for a man who had devoted most of his life to the safety of New Yorkers. Sliwa presented as old, slow and extremely tired. By contrast, Momdani was the polar opposite. He acted upbeat. He was constantly smiling. Momdani also shot down concerns over his younger age very effectively. He told voters he heard them. He promised voters and viewers he was going to get older. Momdani even had the balls to have a piece of birthday cake delivered to himself on camera. Who thinks of this stuff? Zohran Momdani does.
The aftermath of Momdani’s nearly 10-point win felt like chaos reimagined. Opponents quickly closed shop. Momdani accepted the win like a champion welcoming himself back. He didn’t hold back, scolding Trump and yelling at him to “turn up the volume”. Momdani promised constant competition and controversy. It appears there’s no love lost between Trump and Momdani. The now 34-year-old just doesn’t seem intimidated by the President. If anything, it feels like the Mayor Mamdani is swinging even harder at Trump than almost anyone else has.
So, what does the future hold during Momdani’s tenure? Time will tell. He’s promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu if he dares step foot into NYC. The shiny new mayor does not seem like he will be phased by Trump. He definitely seems like the win has emboldened him. Personally, I do not see him backing down to Trump. In fact, I would not be surprised at all if Momdani takes the fight directly to Trump. His bravado appears that strong. Can the elder Statesman in Trump tackle this young interloper? Many think Trump can. It will take a sustained effort. Cuomo landed some brilliant attacks on Momdani during the campaign. Nothing seemed to stick. Not even the alleged fact the now mayor may have missed nearly 80 percent of his opportunities to vote in the Assembly. Voters did not seem to care. They were either focused on or distracted by Momdani.
Can Momdani deliver on the wildly aggressive promises that may have helped catapult him to victory? Promises like: free public transit, rent freezes, and government run grocery stores. It will be interesting to see how many people, if any, actually leave the state. It’s the ever-evolving threat. If so and so wins I’m out here yet. Rarely anyone other than Rosie O’Donnell actually leaves. And lately it seems like Rosie’s missing the party back stateside. So let’s not close the lid on this victory quite yet. It’s possible Mayor Mamdani will swing into action fairly quickly. Strap in. This is going to be a really wild ride for the next several years. I promise.
