NY Times Sparks Firestorm Over Mayoral Candidate’s Race

The New York Times is scrambling to calm a media firestorm of its own making after reporting that far-left New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani identified as both “Asian” and “Black or African American” on his 2009 college application. But what’s grabbing headlines now isn’t just Mamdani’s racial self-identification—it’s the backlash from the left against their own paper.

The report dropped Thursday, revealing that Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and darling of New York’s progressive elite, checked multiple racial boxes on his Columbia University application. He reportedly claimed both Asian and African American heritage despite being of Indian descent and born in Uganda.

College App Questions Resurface Amid Hacked Files

The information came to light after a recent cyberattack on Columbia University leaked internal documents. One of those documents was Mamdani’s college application, which was shared with The Times. Although critics slammed the paper for using hacked data, The Times insists it verified the information directly with Mamdani himself before publication.

“We obtained the application and brought it to Mamdani’s campaign. He confirmed it,” wrote Patrick Healy, The Times’ assistant managing editor for Standards and Trust, in a statement posted Friday to X (formerly Twitter). “He explained he was limited by the form’s race categories and decided to write in ‘Uganda,’ where he was born.”

Mamdani’s Racial Politics Under New Scrutiny

Mamdani is no stranger to controversy. As a prominent member of New York’s Democratic Socialists of America and a vocal critic of Israel, his political brand has always leaned hard-left. But this latest revelation throws a spotlight on his personal narrative—and raises new questions about how he’s framed his identity to gain advantage.

Critics argue that Mamdani’s dual-race identification appears opportunistic.

“If a white conservative tried this, they’d be run out of town,” said one GOP strategist familiar with New York politics. “But the left loves to twist identity politics until it breaks.”

Democrats Split on Response

While many liberals jumped to Mamdani’s defense, others in the party are drawing a hard line.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), one of the few moderate Democrats in the city, didn’t mince words earlier this week when he torched Mamdani for refusing to condemn the pro-terror chant “Globalize the intifada.”

“If you want to be mayor of New York City, you need to unequivocally condemn calls for violence,” Torres said Monday. “You don’t get to dodge that responsibility by hiding behind progressive slogans.”

Left-Wing Civil War Erupts Online

Backlash to the Times’ reporting has grown louder by the hour—but not from the right.

Hard-left commentator Keith Olbermann blasted the paper on X, accusing it of smearing Mamdani. “Your absolute abrogation of NYT standards would have led to mass resignations in a better era,” he fumed.

Even Times columnist Jamelle Bouie took shots—at his own newsroom. In now-deleted posts on Bluesky, Bouie hurled personal insults at reporter Benjamin Ryan, mocking his intelligence. “Everything I have seen about him screams a guy with little to no actual brain activity,” Bouie wrote before issuing a bland apology: “I deleted several posts about a Times story because they violated Times social media standards.”

The Bigger Picture: Identity, Power, and Political Games

The controversy has exposed a growing rift within the Democratic Party between moderates like Torres and far-left radicals like Mamdani. It’s also revealed the deep unease on the left when their own tactics—like identity-based politicking—are scrutinized.

“Mamdani’s story is a microcosm of the progressive movement: play identity games, dodge accountability, and cry foul when challenged,” said a former Democratic campaign staffer turned independent analyst.

As the 2025 mayoral race heats up, voters may soon decide whether New York City wants more of the same radical politics—or is finally ready to chart a different course.