Social media fuelled Mamdani’s rise. Can he keep the momentum as mayor?

Jumping into the cold waters of Coney Island in January for a pun on “I’m freezing your rent.” Visiting food trucks to discuss how municipal permitting processes lead to “Halalflation.” We’re marching through Manhattan to show New Yorkers that they “deserve a mayor they can see, hear, even shout at.”

These social media videos helped Zohran Mamdani and his leftist policies score a surprise victory in the New York City mayoral primary and subsequent victory in the November election.

Experts told the BBC that the 34-year-old democratic socialist uses social media to portray an authentic and cheerful person to engage New Yorkers, especially young voters who spend much of their time “doomseeking”.

Now, after being sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1, his next task will be to keep those same supporters together and keep the momentum going in office.

Nearly three-quarters of voters under 30 in New York City voted for Mamdani, according to an Associated Press voter survey.

Mamdani’s strong social media strategy appealed to these voters by presenting the image of a political candidate desired by young people tired of older, more established candidates, said Jane Hall, a communications professor at American University who studies politics and media.

Hall said a candidate doesn’t need to be young to connect with young voters, “but I think you do need to be authentic and talk about the things people care about in a way that’s trendy and makes people want to be in the majority.”

Jack Bratich, a journalism professor at Rutgers University who studies political culture and social media, said Mamdani has shown that he can combine light-heartedness with serious conversations.

Jennifer Stromer-Galley, who teaches communication, political science and rhetorical studies at Syracuse University, told the BBC that this sense of fun contrasts with some of the negativity President Donald Trump has directed at social media.

Despite an unexpectedly friendly first meeting between the two politicians in November, in which they said they agreed on a range of issues facing New York City, such as the affordability crisis, the two locked horns during the mayoral race.

Trump painted Mamdani as an extremist “crazy man,” threatening to withhold federal funds from the city if Mamdani won and saying he would have him arrested if he stood in the way of immigration enforcement operations.

In his victory speech on election night, Mamdani told the president that “to reach any of us, you will have to reach across all of us.”

The comment sparked a raucous cheer from his supporters at the time, but experts say the reality of the administration may mean engaging with the Trump administration in a pragmatic way. This heated meeting in November could be an early sign that Mamdani is willing to do so.

How he works with the White House and how he develops a relationship with the president could be crucial to enacting his agenda.

While it’s easy to promise “rapid, sweeping change” in campaign videos, things become much more difficult when it actually comes to “governing under a hostile administration,” said Ioana Literat, a Columbia University communications professor who studies young people’s online political socialization.

“If his [social media] “If the content doesn’t honestly take these constraints into account, the same young people who made it viral can quickly turn that energy into frustration or backlash,” he said.

Jonathan Nagler, co-director of NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics, told the BBC that to succeed in office, Mamdani would have to keep his supporters engaged in day-to-day management, which was not as exciting as a high-stakes political race.

“It’s easy to mobilize people against Trump. If we’re talking about New York City voters, they already disagree with Trump on a lot of issues,” Nagler said.

“What’s much harder to do is go on social media and say: ‘Hey, the New York City Council is in front of me. “I need you to get angry about convincing the New York City Council to do something.”

Nagler added that it may be difficult to educate some voters about how city government works.

“Like all election campaigns, the transition to governing through the media is complicated,” Rutgers Prof Bratich said.

One strategy to maintain his campaign’s momentum would be to turn captive social media followers into active grassroots organizers. Ultimately, social media is “the front door to a massive field operation and youth volunteer corps” for the incoming mayor, Braitch said.

Mamdani’s posts during the campaign consistently directed her followers to protests, campaign events, registration drives, and other forms of active participation, ultimately producing more than 100,000 volunteers.

“But if his administration stumbles and publications continue to promise more than he can deliver, it could reinforce the perception among young voters that ‘even the mayor of the internet can’t change anything,'” Literat said. he said.

“This wider reputational risk is part of what makes social media so important during the period of power,” he added.

Mamdani’s transition team did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

But there is at least one significant sign that the grassroots momentum surrounding Mamdani will continue.

In November, his allies announced a new advocacy group that aims to use its deep well of volunteers to raise funds for its agenda. The nonprofit Our Time for an Affordable NYC was founded by Mamdani volunteers and members of the Democratic Socialists of New York.

While Our Time is legally separate from Mamdani and his transition team, the group says it is focused on advancing the mayor’s affordability agenda through “door knocking, phone banking, networking, and organizing at the neighborhood, city, and state level.”

Mamdani’s swearing-in ceremony on Thursday took place at the original City Hall subway station, which is now abandoned for regular transportation.

“This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” he said. “I can’t wait to see everyone as we start our term tomorrow.”