‘I Don’t Think We Should Have Billionaires’: Zohran Mamdani’s Most Defining Lines

Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist and immigrant from Uganda who has just been elected mayor of New York City, ran a campaign that blended progressive policy proposals with memorable one-liners and viral moments. His candidacy emphasized immigrant protections, economic fairness, cycling and transit investment, and a direct challenge to Islamophobia and the politics of Donald Trump.

Quotes That Defined His Campaign

1. On immigration and defending immigrant communities. Born in Uganda and raised in New York from age seven, Mamdani used his victory address to reject hardline federal immigration policies and to celebrate the citys immigrant roots.

New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.

2. On experience versus integrity. In an October debate with independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani turned a charge of inexperience into an attack on Cuomo's record as governor.

What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity. And what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for with experience.

3. On Islamophobia. Having grown up in the aftermath of 9/11, Mamdani made confronting Islamophobia a recurring theme, and vowed that such rhetoric would no longer carry political weight in New York.

No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election.

4. A viral moment on transit and identity. When a heckler called him a 'communist', Mamdani grabbed a Citi Bike and rode away with a quip that captured his focus on affordable transit and his quick humor.

It’s pronounced ‘cyclist’.

5. On identity and conviction. In his victory speech Mamdani listed the parts of his identity he refuses to apologize for: his age, his faith, and his politics.

I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.

6. On wealth and inequality. Affordability was central to his platform; he repeatedly criticized extreme wealth and called for greater taxation of the ultra-wealthy to address inequality.

I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality, and ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country.

7. On #burritogate. Responding with self-deprecating humor to a photo of him eating a burrito on the subway with a fork and knife, Mamdani turned a silly flap into a playful line that underscored his relatable campaign style.

I hear you. I see you. And if you’re a burrito on the Q train, I eat you.

8. On national stakes and calling out a former president. Mamdani framed his victory as having implications beyond New York, directly addressing Donald Trump and arguing that dismantling the conditions that produce demagogues is necessary to stop them.

If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. So, if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it’s how we stop the next one. So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up!

Taken together, these moments and remarks helped define a campaign that was at once policy-focused and media-savvy, appealing to voters through both substance and memorable soundbites.