It’s a good day for grassroots Democrats across the country. It’s hard to keep your head up when day after day you are faced with more lies and political division from the Propagandist in Chief. But today is different, as the White House cleaners, due to the shutdown, aren’t there to pick up the broken glass from the dining room floor and wipe the ketchup from the walls after a night of bad news for Trump. The people have spoken, and there is no spinning what they said.
MAGA yesterday saw the ghost of Christmas future. Ebenezer Trump saw the flickering spectre of future accountability around every corner as he wandered through the dimmed corridors of the West Wing. Despite his narcissism, there is no escaping the rejection of his attempt to rule America for the few and not the many. The Republican messaging monster has already started its fear campaign, as one would expect, and there is little doubt that Mamdani will face the full wrath of both the oligarchs and even the political elite from inside his own party.
I’m not going to lie, I shed a tear in the early hours of the morning across the pond as I listened to his acceptance speech. It took me back to 2008 and Obama’s acceptance speech on that cold November Chicago night, when the breath of thousands created a misty air of hope amid deep economic challenges. The level of oratory skill and passion was mirrored last night in New York. These were very different moments in very different times, but as a long-time global advocate for social justice, my heart rate was elevated, and the same tears rolled down my face as they did in 2008. That’s just how much this win meant to me.
The significance of this moment is difficult to articulate because this goes way beyond electoral success, to the very heart of what has made America great. An immigrant Muslim dared to stand up in the alleged land of the free to give voice to those the rich had long since declared no longer free, but rather economic slaves. I really don’t think white First World Americans will ever understand exactly what this man has achieved against all the odds.
He has shaken the political establishment to the very core, and I hate to say it, but this will make him a genuine assassination target, so I genuinely hope that he has a top drawer security detail to protect him in what for him are likely perilous times. Putting that aside for a moment, what you are about to see is two different yet similar narratives emerging from Mamdani’s victory, and it’s essential to understand the broader implications for what many Democratic establishment figures will describe as a blue wave that took place overnight. I have to tell you that this interpretation is without question disingenuous. However, in the circumstances, I’ll give Democratic leadership and the establishment a pass, given that they so desperately need a win in this moment.
Behind all the celebrations and victory laps the likes of Chuck Schumer will take today, it would be easy to forget one crucial group of people in this moment—grassroots and digital Democratic activists didn’t go AWOL when Democrats lost last November, unlike their leadership in Washington, who collected their salary after booking another 4 years on the gravy train. In comparison, activists screamed for change. Guess what? They were ignored, as leadership hibernated in the comfort of their Washington offices.
At the same time, Russell Vought and his cabal of malign actors instigated a blitzkrieg on the foundations of representative democracy and American values. This was a plan that had been four years in the making. A plan developed with military precision, which had an army of MAGA loyalists that had sworn an oath to Trump, not the Constitution. This was not to be a transition; it was to be a revolution that would, in their own words, leave federal employees traumatised. They viewed victory as the spoils of political war, as Democrats handed Trump the House, the Senate, the White House, and the popular vote.
Leadership was left traumatised to the point of political paralysis; there was no day after planning, and their response was to blame working-class voters and those they had left behind for electing a fascist. There was no acceptance of failure; just a behind-closed-doors autopsy that delivered nothing but a call to put the failure behind and move on. No apology to the millions of voters and activists who had rowed against the Trump machine for months to the point of exhaustion. This may be very difficult to read, but the truth sometimes can be painful.
This brings me nicely back to last night. This was a win handed to Democrats, not as a result of forward-thinking, bold, audacious leadership, but rather the fruits of the labour of millions of grassroots Democrats who took leadership into their own hands to beat the drum for Democratic candidates across the country. They were joined in their mission by millions of Americans who could not give a damn about the Democratic party, but who wanted to send a clear message to Trump that they are done with the lies, the deceit and his failure to deliver.
The key takeaway is that this was a victory for the American people far more than it was for the Democratic Party, which still has a significant trust deficit with voters. I can guarantee that leadership will be pushing the narrative that this is a Democrat win when they were merely the beneficiaries of a failed administration. Voters had nowhere else to go to register a protest vote against Trump.
The exception was Mamdani’s win in New York; nobody in the Democratic Party can claim that victory because Schumer never endorsed him, and those who did, had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do so. This was a victory built on the audacity of hope and a bold vision for change. This was a man who was unapologetic about his no-compromise political position. He grabbed the establishment and the political class by the scruff of the neck and would NOT bend the knee to corporate interests, nor make excuses for Israeli war crimes. Neither would he disavow his Islamic faith, which itself makes him eminently qualified to serve ALL New Yorkers.
For those unfamiliar with the pillars of Islam, I have included a short video below that might help dispel the terrorist myth. I’m more than happy to provide some cross-referencing when it comes to Islam and Christianity, which I think would be an exercise in itself, given that 25% of the world population practices Islam. You may also be interested to note that charitable giving for Muslims is a core aspect of American Muslim identity, with many donating a significant portion of their wealth and dedicating substantial funds, particularly during the month of Ramadan.
Putting religion aside, the New York Mayoral race was a straightforward choice:
A 34-year-old Muslim immigrant public servant
A member of a monied New York dynasty accused of numerous sexual assaults. This man has struggled with ethics and transparency, even since his earliest days in public office. A man who abused power, undermined transparency, and persistently skirted accountability. He is the poster boy for everything wrong in American politics, as was evident when, in an act of desperation, he accepted the endorsement of a president who has sent his private army into New York to terrorise immigrants and abduct people from the streets.
The people spoke, many of them young voters, and now the real work begins, because the headwinds he will face even within his own party are, I’m sure, beyond even his comprehension. The good news is that his good friends AOC and Bernie Sanders know precisely what he will face. What Mamdani has done is terrify lots of right-wing voices that have openly expressed that Trump’s actions will drive people to socialism.
Here’s where I can smile a little when I think of how Americans use the term socialism as a weapon to instil fear that the socialists are going to tax you until you bleed. Yes, socialism does look to introduce fairness into the tax code by having the rich pay their fair share, but what amazes me is that in April 2025, Trump raised taxes on EVERY American by an average of 18%. The difference was that he sold the lie that a tariff is not a tax, and, being the stable genius he is, he’s taxed everyone — from the rich to the poor —the same amount on every imported item to America. Whether you earn a million dollars a year or 20k a year, the price is the same. That’s a textbook example of a regressive taxation:
A tax that takes a higher percentage of income from those with lower incomes, disproportionately affecting the poor.
I can tell you without fear of contradiction that, in many European countries, Mamdani would be at worst considered centre-left. In America, anything to the left of Mussolini is considered communism, and this is where an uneducated population plays into the hands of the likes of Trump and Stephen Miller, who can sell their daily diet of fear. Much has been said about Mamdani, quoting the words of Eugene V Debs, the author of ‘Labour and Freedom’, when he said in his speech,
“I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”
Debs also said:
“I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth; I am a citizen of the world”.
As they always say, ‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating', and only time will tell if Zorhan is able to deliver on his ambitious agenda. My only advice to him would be to change Democratic Socialist to ‘People First Democrat’.
Moving on to the broader picture from last night’s elections, there’s little doubt that Trump’s abject failure to deliver gifted victories up and down the country to Democrats as they became the grateful recipients of bucket loads of protest votes as they mobilised a newly engaged electorate. I have to tell you that Trump will be screaming ‘foul’ and ‘rigged’ all day long as he instructs his messaging machine to cast doubt on results up and down the country.
The potential problem now will come from Trump’s fear that it looks like he is destined to lose power at the first opportunity voters have to punish him for what he’s doing. This is very likely to lead him to double down on controlling elections, as he attempts to select his voters rather than the constitutionally prescribed process of voters choosing their president. Democrats hugely upped the stakes last night, and Trump WILL be forced to respond as he prepares his new Air Force One to flee to Qatar in the event he is dethroned.
What will be really interesting now is to see the Republican caucus's reaction. The big message sent by voters last night is: ‘We’re coming for you.’ As I have said all along, Trump will lose—it’s inevitable—and the last night simply reaffirmed my assessment. If you are a Republican lawmaker in America today, last night indicated the writing is on the wall, not from Democrats, but from everyday Americans who are saying loud and clear, ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,’ and that should put fire in the belly of everyone outside of the cult of Trump.
So to Mikie Sherrill, who won the New Jersey Governor’s race, to Abigail Spanberger, who won the Virginia Governor’s race, to the people of California who voted overwhelmingly for Prop 50, you have fractured the red wall. Now it’s all about applying continued pressure until that wall collapses. If there is one report I would urge you to read today, it is the piece by David Smith in the Guardian whose headline reads:
Democrats have racked up election wins across America – but they would do well not to misread the results.
David noted:
Democrats retained three crucial seats on the Pennsylvania supreme court. In the Virginia state legislature, House Democrats flipped 13 seats for their biggest majority in nearly 40 years. “Tonight was an earthquake election in Virginia,” said Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
He goes on to note:
Tuesday’s elections also demonstrated that when Trump is not on the ballot – but his record is – voters do not turn out for him. Republicans such as Winsome Earle-Sears of Virginia, who tried to copy Trump’s anti-trans attacks on her opponent, found to her cost that the president is inimitable.
However, his key takeaway is:
Democrats would do well not to over-interpret Tuesday’s blowout. The party locked out of power always tends to be energised. Trump lost New Jersey and Virginia three times. In New York, Mamdani could not have chosen a more beatable opponent than the scandal-plagued Cuomo. In Virginia, Earle-Sears was no Glenn Youngkin, the Republican who skilfully kept Trump at arm’s length without alienating him four years ago.
And although Democrats have done well in special elections all year, the party’s brand is still under water. In July its approval rating hit a 30-year-low. Last week a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos opinion poll found that 68% of Americans think Democrats are out of touch – more than the 63% who see Trump in the same way.
David’s assessment and mine are perfectly in sync, and while I say enjoy today, celebrate and feel free to tease MAGA a little if you wish, but please DO NOT assume that Democrats are back, because all the data indicates that this is not true. Leadership change is fundamental to building on last night's success. It’s time to clean house. All the evidence shows that the American people are hungry for change, and as such, far from punishing Democrats for being bold enough to clean house, they will cheer the effort on, I promise you.
The burning question now is whether the Democratic base is prepared to stage a revolution in the Party to deliver a new, revitalised political proposition —not just to re-energise the base, but to go trawling for support amongst the 90 million Americans who sat it out last November. My suggestion would be to starve the DNC of money until they listen and consult with the base on a new, bold, ambitious vision for the Democratic Party for the 2026 midterms.
Don’t misunderstand, I’m fully aware that the Mamdani race is somewhat unique in the US political landscape, so what works in New York can’t be replicated across the country. However, that is not to say that lack of ambition is acceptable if Dems are to create a better tomorrow for American families. Don't worry about Trump; he’s on a collision course with an economic iceberg that will leave him rearranging the deckchairs on the deck of the Good Ship Trump. He needs absolutely no help to achieve a face plant; he can do that all by himself.
If I were the DNC, I would have a housekeeping campaign ready to go inside the party the week Congress returns from the Christmas break. That will provide enough time to build a formidable electoral machine in good time for the midterms. The only thing is, they are going to need to walk and chew gum at the same time, because Trump will not go willingly into the political wilderness, his legacy in tatters, he will in his own words, ‘Fight Like Mad’, so my suggestion would be to employ Mark Elias and Democracy Docket to lead a team of top-tier lawyers to protect the rear as Democrats march forward to save the soul of this nation.
My exact thoughts when I saw Hakeem Jeffries' post congratulating the democratic party. This was a win because independents, disaffected republicans & democratic socialists joined to make it happen. If the democratic party does the same thing they did to Bernie, they will lose the future. Mamdani won without the support of the democratic party. The big tent of democracy needs to grow bigger to hold all at this moment. The old guard needs to retire. Their time is done. We need people who are not beholden to the status quo.
Yesterday, voters didn’t just reject Trumpism. They buried it under a landslide of reason, compassion, and common sense. The MAGA movement tried to claim the country. The country just claimed itself back.