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Sir Sadiq Khan has welcomed a bitter blow for Donald Trump after New York elected Democrat Zohran Mamdani as the city’s new mayor. The US President Donald Trump had thrown his weight behind defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo, called Mr Mamdani a “communist”, and threatened to cut federal funding to New York if Mr Mamdani triumphed. However, Mr Mamdani has now triumphed , defeating Mr Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first of South Asian heritage. Sir Sadiq congratulated Mr Mamdani, who will become New York’s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on January 1, on what he called a “historic campaign”. He wrote on X: “New Yorkers faced a clear choice – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London – hope won.” Sir Sadiq’s backing of Mr Mamdani comes after a long running spat between the London mayor and Mr Trump. The US president has repeatedly attacked Sir Sadiq since 2015, when the Labour politician condemned his suggestion that Muslims should be banned from travelling to the US. During Mr Trump’s state visit to the UK in September, Trump said Sir Sadiq was “among the worst mayors in the world ” and claimed he had asked that the mayor not attend events during the visit. Addressing the UN General Assembly, the US president falsely claimed Sir Sadiq wanted to impose Sharia law on London. Hitting back, the London mayor dubbed Donald Trump “racist, sexist, misogynistic” and “Islamophobic”. He previously added: “People are wondering what it is about this Muslim mayor who leads a liberal, multicultural, progressive, successful city that means I appear to be living rent-free inside Donald Trump’s head. “I think President Trump has shown he is racist, he is sexist, he is misogynistic, and he’s Islamophobic.” In his victory speech, Mr Mamdani called out Trump, and told him to “turn the volume up” to enjoy the loud cheers from supporters. In a defiant address, he said: : “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant. “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.” The city’s Board of Elections said the vote had seen the largest turnout in more than 50 years, with more than two million people casting ballots. Elsewhere, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said “I don't follow American politics especially closely” when asked about Mr Mamdani’s victory.
