Many of the influencers who spoke to NBC News spoke about the importance of not only being able to engage with Mamdani and applauding his campaign, but also being willing to hold him accountable for the campaign promises they hope to see him deliver on.
“At the end of the day, while we all love him very much because he went to great lengths to reach out to us, it’s also incredibly important that we hold him accountable,” Isa Buitrago, a New York-based creator, said in an interview. “Because no politician should ever be on a pedestal, no matter how amazing they are.”
Yousef Haswe, a pro-Palestinian activist and political activist, asked Mamdani how he would make City University of New York schools more accessible and affordable. Before asking his question, he wished Mamdani “salaam alaikum habibi,” a friendly Arabic greeting that translates to “peace be upon you, my beloved.”
“They don't do this in a normal press conference,” Mamdani said.
Speaking to NBC News, Hasve said he thinks one of the best questions is “how can we hold you accountable.”
“They always talk about us, but they don’t talk to us,” Haswe said of politicians. “So being in the room was kind of a shock, and I think he's one of the few administrations that will have us in a room we've never seen.”
Ayem “Prance” Kpenkaan, a sketch artist and comedy creator, said influencers will “name good things.” [Mamdani’s] do something, and then name all the ways in which he disappoints us.”
“I don’t think anyone here is interested in mere propaganda,” Kpenkaan said. “We have an audience that trusts us. And there's no point in lying to them because we've spent years building that trust, and the most important thing for a content creator is to maintain it.”
The briefing asked a wide range of questions, from humorous to more serious political issues.
On immigration policy, Mamdani, an immigrant who will be the city's first Muslim mayor, said his election “is an opportunity for us to make it clear that immigrants don't just belong in the five boroughs of New York—we also belong in City Hall.”
Mamdani vowed to use the mayor's office “as a bully pulpit” to fight for the interests of New Yorkers and those who gathered before him on Tuesday. Asked whether the Trump administration's rapidly unfolding agenda was a “code red” for the country, he agreed.
“All Donald Trump cares about is delivering on the cruelty and punishment parts of his agenda,” he said. “There's no interest in the parts of this campaign that inspired so many Americans to embrace a lower cost of living, to deliver cheaper groceries. And the potential that we have locally is to show that there can be more to life than that.”
