Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York’s mayoral race this week – and other electoral successes – energized Democrats in the US and left-wing parties worldwide. The new standard-bearer of the American left is hailed by progressives as a generational shift of leadership – at 34 he will be the first Muslim mayor of New York, and one of its youngest ever. 

But he faces opposition from many quarters over his plans to raise taxes on the wealthy. Not least from President Donald Trump, who has threatened to hold back federal funds from the city where he was born.  

This week’s podcast assesses the significance of the first major elections of Trump’s second term, and what it means for the Democratic Party’s chances of winning back the House of Representatives in midterm elections next November. 

In the US, host Bronwen Maddox is joined by Laurel Rapp, director of the US and North America Programme, and Bruce Stokes, an associate fellow at Chatham House and a former director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center. Joining from London is Stephen Farrell, head of News and Comment, who covered the 2013 New York City mayoral election for The New York Times. 

Mamdani won in New York. For Trump, was it a setback or backlash?

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