Since his historic mayoral win in New York, Zohran Mamdani has witnessed a surge in both his fans and haters’ clubs. Mamdani, who was endorsed by many big names, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Cynthia Nixon, is the first Muslim mayor-elect NYC has ever seen. He promised to tackle the long-running problems New Yorkers face.
According to The New York Times, Zohran Mamdani said in his victory speech, “Thank you. Thank you to the next generation of New Yorkers who refuse to accept that the promise of a better future was a relic of the past.” Since then, he has been receiving a lot of support from many Americans, even outside of his state.
But his critics grew louder at the same time. His recent plea set off a backlash online. On his Instagram account, Mamdani asked his supporters to raise $4 million for his mayoral transition fees. For context, this money will be allocated towards funding his staff, fielding resumes, and other expenses as he takes the office formally in January.
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In the video, shot in a very creative marketing style, the newly elected NYC mayor is seen saying, “We have less than 50 days until we take office, and we have a lot to do. We have to vet the 50,000 resumes we’ve received. We have to keep paying our incredible team. And we have to plan not just our inauguration, but our policy implementation.”
He also explained, “Unlike the campaign, transitions do not get public matching funds from the city…it’s up to us to raise the money. Usually, campaigns take that as an opportunity to rely on wealthy donors, but that’s not us.”
In the video, Mamdani informed, “We’ve raised more than a million dollars in just two weeks. Our average donation is around $77, and more than 12,000 of you have donated so far.” He added, “We need to raise $4 million in total. So January 1st can be the day we start to deliver, not start to prepare.”
Unbelievable. Democrats claim to fight for the little guy, then demand millions just to “transition” into office. Pure entitlement, and exactly why people keep turning toward Republicans.
— The MAGA Beacon (@magabeacon) November 19, 2025
While the innovative fundraising video definitely received support from his fans, his detractors weren’t impressed. The Instagram video quickly went viral on X (formerly Twitter), where Mamdani’s haters had a field day. “Pure entitlement, and exactly why people keep turning toward Republicans,” wrote one, while the other echoed, “Some people always find new ways to grift their base.”
A third wrote, “Unbelievable. Democrats claim to fight for the little guy, then demand millions just to ‘transition’ into office.” Another user claimed that “Next month it will be $8 million” he would be asking for, while some others even questioned what the money was for, despite the NYC Mayor clearly breaking it down in his video.
