Here’s a look at Mamdani’s sometimes-evolving positions on five key issues.

And we will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism.

But despite typically voting overwhelmingly Democratic, only about a third of the election’s Jewish voters cast their ballots for Mamdani, with many citing his long-held positions on Palestine as a reason for supporting his opponent, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

Some of Mamdani’s positions that have stirred concern within the Jewish community include:

• Not repudiating the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which is seen by some Jews as calling for increased uprisings in support of Palestinian self-determination and therefore posing a threat to the existence of the state of Israel and Jews in general. (Mamdani has since said he would discourage the use of the term going forward.)
• Saying he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to come to New York City. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israel-Hamas War. “I’ve said time and time again that this is a city that believes in international law,” Mamdani said on CNN in September 2025.

During his campaign Mamdani visited synagogues to talk to Jewish voters and publicly denounced acts of antisemitism, but the day after his election the Anti-Defamation League announced the launch of a “Mamdani Monitor” program to track his policies and appointments.

Pres. Donald Trump

U.S. Pres. Donald Trump has taken on Mamdani on multiple fronts, including by endorsing Cuomo, the former Democratic candidate who lost to Mamdani in the primary and ran against him in the general election as an independent. Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City and has called Mamdani a communist. (He is actually a democratic socialist.) Earlier in the campaign Trump even threatened to rescind Mamdani’s citizenship.

For his part, Mamdani seems to relish taking on the president, addressing him directly in his acceptance speech, saying:

So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.

Affordability

Mamdani’s message of reducing the cost of living in New York City resonated with a large swath of voters, bringing more people to the polls than in any mayoral contest since 1969. However, he has faced stiff opposition from some of New York’s business leaders who fear the impact of his policies on the city’s economy.

Among Mamdani’s signature affordability initiatives are:

• Universal childcare: Mamdani’s plan calls for providing care to all children in the city from the age of six weeks to five years. The estimated cost would be $6 billion a year, which he says should be funded by higher taxes on the wealthy. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed the idea but has been reluctant to fund it through higher taxes.
• Rent freeze: Mamdani has called for holding rents steady for the city’s one million rent-controlled housing units. Rents on such units are decided annually by a board that has, on some occasions in the past, chosen not to raise them. Mamdani has also called for the building of 200,000 new affordable housing units.
• City-owned grocery stores: Mamdani’s pilot program would launch a handful of city-owned supermarkets. The theory is that unlike corporate stores, city-owned groceries would aim to keep the cost of food low since they would not need to make a profit. The plan has been criticized as being unworkable at a large scale.

Immigration

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on New York (and other cities around the country) increased in 2025, so did Mamdani’s support among Hispanic voters, who were also moved by his positions on affordability. Mamdani is an immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2018.

During the campaign Mamdani took on both Cuomo and Trump for their positions on immigration. When New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, one of his opponents in the Democratic primary, was arrested at an immigration court, Mamdani called the actions of ICE “fascist,” adding: “If this is what ICE is willing to do to a comptroller of the city of New York, imagine what they are willing to do to immigrants whose names you don’t even know.”

Policing

As mayor, Mamdani will be in charge of the city’s 33,000 police officers. The relationship between the mayor and the force has been fraught in the past, notably when officers turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio during police funerals.

Mamdani has apologized for comments he made online in 2020 calling the department “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.” He has vowed to keep Jessica Tisch, the current police commissioner, and has called for the creation of a community safety department, which would dispatch health care professionals instead of police to handle 911 calls about people in mental health crises.