Zohran Mamdani, the Internet’s Mayor

Zohran Mamdani is, Quite literally, everywhere.

The 34-year-old New York state assemblyman, who has maintained relative political anonymity in recent months as the likely winner of New York City’s November mayoral bid, has already graced the covers of Time, New York, Vanity Fair and The Nation, among other publications. He sparred with newscasters from CNN and Fox News, sparred with Stephen Colbert and chatted like his life depended on it. View.

MamdaniIts ubiquity didn’t begin with print pages or broadcast interviews. Much of that mainstream media exposure, and Mamdani’s growing celebrity, is the combined byproduct of a single element of his mayoral campaign: a really, really Good social skills. One of Mamdani’s first viral videos, a 2024 supercut of brief conversations between the assemblyman and a New York-based Trump voter, laid the groundwork for a subsequent mayoral campaign built on clever, conversational clips. See: Very cold MamdaniFixing the rent on a rent-stabilized apartment with a commitment stemming from a pole plunge into the Atlantic Ocean. See also: Sneakers Mamdaniwalking the length of Manhattan to advocate for accessible politicians; Citi Bike Mamdaniresponds to a spectator’s shout of “Communist” before pedaling off as the camera rolls; or Red Rose Mamdanispoofing bachelor Time to woo New Yorkers with the promise of a just future. Yes, the #ZaddyZohran TikTok hashtag is almost as widespread as the candidate that inspired it.

But as Mamdani acknowledged during a recent sit-down at his campaign’s spartan Manhattan headquarters, his outdoor publicity also has its downsides: There’s the ire of President Trump, who has denounced Mamdani as “a 100% communist lunatic,” threatened to arrest him, and, November’s top Cuban, must be arrested. York City. Then there is the risk of violence against Mamdani or his campaign staff; This is a concern that has grown significantly in recent follow-ups The assassination of far-right activist Charlie KirkAnd, for Mamdani, that means “I’m never alone now.”

But for someone everywhere like Mamdani, hiding in the safe confines of an office can only last so long. Forty-five minutes, to be exact, before our interview ends and Mamdani (on security detail) joins WIRED’s photographers on a bustling Manhattan street, posing inside a yellow cab and pacing the sidewalk. To say the passers-by took note would be an understatement. They took at least five selfies in less than 10 minutes. They also took propaganda materials, apparently so inspired by a glimpse of Zaddi Zohran that they were forced to join his 80,000-strong volunteer force. And, in typical New York fashion, they did all this without a trace of personal shame, shouting Mamdani’s name from office towers and open car windows; He was shot from across the street and down the block.

It remains to be seen whether Mamdani as mayor can satisfy these starstruck locals—with his thousands of volunteers and tens of thousands of presumed voters—not to mention millions more followers online. For now, Mamdani is embracing life as a new internet darling. After offering one last wave, to a particularly loud fan shouting from a window across the street, the candidate and his entourage retreated inside their nondescript office building. Up in the elevator, perhaps, to the next interview.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Photo: Ike Edeni