NEW YORK − Following his shocking upset to the Democratic establishment, New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is reaching out to skeptics before taking office.

After winning on a progressive platform to address affordability in the nation’s largest city, the democratic socialist has continued to mend fences with powerful figures to his right.

Mamdani, 34, takes office on Jan. 1, and he appears to to be trying to address concerns around his age, lack of experience, and a progressive leading the city, with a transition filled with veterans of past City Halls and a diverse sounding board.

And he’s backing Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked successor, against challenge from the left.

He did make one divisive comment, taking a shot at pro-Israel activity, but subsequently condemned phrases ushered by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Mamdani goes to Washington

Mamdani requested a White House meeting with President Donald Trump to focus on addressing cost of living.

“I will meet with anyone, I will speak to everyone, so long as it can stand to benefit an economic agenda for New Yorkers,” Mamdani said before the Nov. 21 Oval Office event.

Mamdani has called Trump and a “fascist” and a “despot,” but in person he emphasized his interest in working together on affordability.

The charm offensive seemed to work, at least momentarily. Trump has threatened to cut funding to New York City if Mamdani was elected. But in person Trump said he’d like to see Mamdani succeed in his hometown.

Intervenes on Jeffries’ behalf

Mamdani then opposed a primary challenge to unseat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York.

City Councilman Chi Ossé, a left-leaning 27-year-old Democrat from Brooklyn who supported Mamdani’s candidacy, filed on Nov. 17 to form a campaign committee running against Jeffries, who resisted endorsing Mamdani until the last minute.

Democrats on the left have had problems with Jeffries over his support for Israel and his perceived inability to take on Trump.

The New York Daily News reported Mamdani went to the New York City Democratic Socialists of America’s Nov. 19 endorsement forum to ask the group not to back Ossé’s run.

“This is not a question of the ballot box, of who would you rather vote for,” Mamdani later told the leftist podcast, “The Majority Report with Sam Seder.” “This is a question of how you want to spend the next year. Do you want to spend the next year fulfilling the agenda at the heart of this movement, or do you want to spend it defending the caricatures of that movement?”

Instead, he wants activist energy focused on achieving his agenda, including to freeze rents on rent-stabilized units, fast and free buses and universal free child care.

On Nov. 22, NYC-DSA members reportedly voted in a citywide electoral working group not to endorse Ossé by a narrow vote. Ossé told reporters he wouldn’t challenge Jeffries without DSA’s backing. Ossé didn’t respond to a request for comment.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press” a day later, Mamdani said if Democrats take control of the House in the 2026 midterm elections, he would support Jeffries remaining the party leader, which would make Jeffries speaker of the House.

Mainstream transition

Mamdani’s transition advisors includes seasoned municipal administrators who served under de Blasio and current Mayor Eric Adams, as well as the anti-trust scholar Lina Khan, who chaired the Federal Trade Commission under former President Joe Biden.

Mamdani also announced over 400 appointments to 17 transition committees that will provide personnel and policy recommendations. While the body has a handful of fellow DSA members and grassroots organizers focused on tenant rights and racial justice, it included established union heads, as well as representatives from the real estate and finance industries.

Members include Kathy Wylde, considered a billionaire whisperer who leads the business organization Partnership for New York City, as well as Carlina Rivera, a former city councilwoman who now leads the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, a nonprofit trade group representing developers.

On Nov. 26, the City Council’s speaker’s race appeared to be over as Councilwoman Julie Menin, a moderate from Manhattan’s wealthy Upper East Side, said she had enough support to lead the 51-member body.

Mamdani’s spokesperson Dora Pekec said Mamdani looks forward to working with her and the council to deliver on “our affordability agenda for New Yorkers.”

Walking back an anti-Israel comment

In another test, Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel, had to respond to a Nov. 19 pro-Palestinian protest outside a Manhattan synagogue.

The religious space hosted an event by an organization that promotes Jewish immigration to Israel and the occupied West Bank. News outlets reported chants included “death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces, and “globalize the intifada,” which many interpret as a call for violence against Jews even outside of Israel. Protesters at one point reportedly blocked the entrance to the temple.

While discouraging language used by the demonstrators and saying New Yorkers should be free to enter houses of worship, Mamdani reportedly said places of worship should not be violating international law, referring to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. His comments drew swift pushback from many Jewish groups, saying he was quick to blame the synagogue instead of condemning demonstrators.

Days later, he issued a new statement in the New York Times. He said he’d protect First Amendment rights while making it clear nothing justifies calling for “death to” anyone. The language was unacceptable, he said.

On the way to his meeting with Trump, Mamdani spoke with the synagogue’s rabbi and his son, also a rabbi and a prominent Mamdani critic.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at [email protected] or on Signal at emcuevas.01.