EFF hails ‘Trump’s worst nightmare’ Zohran Mamdani after mayoral victory
Zohran Mamdani has fans among South Africa’s leftists, with the Economic Freedom Fighters labelling his election win ‘progressive’.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have congratulated Zohran Mamdani following his historic mayoral victory in New York City on Tuesday, expressing hope that the Cape Town-schooled leader’s win “would serve as the beginning for progressive global relations and renewed solidarity between Africa, the United States and the Global South”.
Mamdani faced tough opposition and critics on the campaign trail – Islamophobia, desertion by his own Democrat party colleagues and accusations of anti-Semitism – but managed to clinch the election comfortably, bagging 50.4% of the vote, versus former governor Andrew Cuomo’s 41.6%, Curtis Sliwa’s 7.1%, and incumbent mayor Eric Adam’s paltry 7.1%.
The EFF said Mamdani’s election triumph was not merely a local win but a transformative moment signalling the rise of “progressive” and “justice-driven leadership” within the “global capitalist epicentre” and world’s financial centre, home to the United Nations headquarters and Wall Street.
The Red Berets – fervent supporters of Palestinians’ demand for freedom – also hailed Mamdani’s stance on the issue, saying his courage on the matter “made him a symbol of principled leadership by standing against apartheid, genocide and the silencing of truth”.
“His victory reflects a growing recognition among ordinary Americans that justice for Palestine is
inseparable from global justice,” the EFF said in a statement.
In July 2025, while campaigning, Mamdani said he would move to arrest Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to ever set foot in New York City.
Mamdani victory speech
At his victory rally, Uganda-born Mamdani reiterated his policies of affordability to New Yorkers, before taking aim at US President Donald Trump.
“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,” Mamdani said to the man who referred to him as the “communist candidate” on the eve of the election.
EFF also takes aim at Trump
Following on Mamdani’s utterances, the EFF slammed “Trump’s continued disdain for democracy” after the US president earlier threatened to withhold federal funding from New York if “Trump’s worst nightmare” was elected as mayor.
“The EFF believes that a new relationship between Africa and the United States must be forged, one free from the neo-colonial arrogance and exploitative interests that have defined past US foreign policy, particularly under the Trump administration,” the Red Berets concluded.