Who's Afraid of The New York Times?

Zohran Mamdani is the mayor-elect of New York City. His campaign was dominant from start to finish. He rose from obscurity to blow out Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams in the Democratic primary. He wiped the floor with Cuomo (again) and Curtis Sliwa in the general. And he did it against the will of the New York media.

From the outset, Mamdani has seen opposition from the city’s biggest media outlets. Some of that is a given: the New York Post is an openly right-wing rag, and the Wall Street Journal, for all of its establishment credibility, is a Rupert Murdoch outlet at the end of the day. Marginally more surprising has been the posture of The New York Times, which has been hostile to Mamdani at nearly every turn.

Last year, the Times’ editorial board announced that it would no longer endorse candidates in local races. But by this summer they seemed to regret their decision. Shortly before the Democratic primary, which was functionally a two-way race between Cuomo and Mamdani, the Times put out an anti-endorsement: a piece that didn’t technically endorse Cuomo, but told readers that “[w]e do not believe that Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot on New Yorkers’ ballots.” 

Upgrade to premium!