"They both come from the same neighborhood, Queens, but they inhabit planets separated by light-years. Or maybe not so much. In one of the most successful videos of the campaign that took him to the New York City mayor's office, Zohran Kwame Mamdani went to certain areas of the city where Donald Trump improved his numbers in the 2024 election to ask people why they had voted for the Republican candidate in the presidential election."
"The reasons they gave himwhich can be summarized in one, the intolerable cost of livingare not far removed from those that will lead Mamdani to become, starting in January, the first Muslim and socialist mayor of the most populous city in the United States. The two worldsthat of the real estate mogul and that of the politician who won by proposing a rent freeze for 2.5 million people living in rent-controlled apartmentscollided this Friday in Washington,"
The meeting in the Oval Office was cordial despite months of personal attacks. Trump said he expects to help Mamdani rather than hurt him and expressed confidence that Mamdani can do a good job and might surprise conservative people. Mamdani campaigned by visiting neighborhoods where Trump gained support to ask residents why they voted for Trump, finding cost of living as a primary reason. Mamdani won proposing a rent freeze affecting 2.5 million rent-controlled residents and will become New York City's first Muslim and socialist mayor starting in January. Their shared Queens origins contrast with divergent political and social perspectives.
Read at english.elpais.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]