CAN THE TOAST OF NEW YORK ACTUALLY RUN THE CITY — AND STAY OUT OF TRUMP'S CROSSHAIRS?

Zohran Mamdani roared to victory as NYC mayor. As he battles his nemesis - the US president - London could be the big winner

- SARAH BAXTER IN NEW YORK

The most sought-after fashion item in New York is a "Hot Girls for Zohran" T-shirt, the foxiest souvenir of an improbable campaign. A 34-year-old radical socialist who barely polled one per cent when he launched his run for mayor caught the zeitgeist and will soon be known as "Hizzoner" - New York-speak for His Honour.

Zohran Mamdani will become the first Muslim mayor of New York on January 1, 2026, in charge of a city of 8.5 million people, commanding a budget of $120bn and responsible for nearly 300,000 employees, with barely a shred of experience running anything. There are set to be fireworks, as he and Donald Trump clash over key issues, not least the incompatibility of Mamdani's global outlook with Trump's nationalist project. The big unknown for New Yorkers is how vengefully Trump will respond to the threat posed by Mamdani.

In the mayor-elect, the president has found an opponent who can rival his celebrity status and charisma. Mamdani won with dollops of charm and a happy-warrior campaign that captivated four out of five young voters and won him 50 per cent of the electorate in a hard-fought contest with Andrew Cuomo, the scandal-plagued former governor of New York.

What Mamdani has in charisma, he lacks in qualifications. Before entering politics, he worked as a housing counsellor, helping low-income homeowners in Queens fight eviction. Born in Kampala, Uganda, he moved to New York aged seven when his father Mahmood Mamdani became an anthropology professor at Columbia University; his mother Mira Nair is a celebrated filmmaker. He met his wife Rama Duwaji, a visual artist and illustrator born in Houston, Texas, on Hinge. With her short fringe, choppy bob and cool-girl vintage closet, she will be the first Gen Z First Lady of New York.