In a revealing 2013 interview, celebrated filmmaker Mira Nair described her then-21-year-old son, Zohran Mamdani—today a front-running socialist candidate for New York City mayor—as follows:

“He is a total desi … He is very much us. He is not an Uhmericcan (American) at all. He was born in Uganda, raised between India and America. He is at home in many places. He thinks of himself as a Ugandan and as an Indian.”

Let that sit. “Not an American at all.” That phrase might work in a private ramble, but when the subject is running for public office in the greatest city of the United States, it becomes deeply troubling.

For the record, Mamdani was born in Uganda, moved to the U.S. at age 7, and was naturalized in 2018. While many immigrants embrace America as their home, this admission suggests a rejection of the label and, by extension, the values that come with it.

Enter Mehek Cooke, an Indian-born attorney and GOP commentator, who sharply observed the implications:

“It’s the word used back in India to mock outsiders, to say you don’t belong … Using it here about your own child raised in the United States carries the same tone as calling someone a derogatory word—or worse. It’s flippant, divisive, and dripping with contempt for the very country that gave your family a better life.”
“When Mamdani’s mother says her son was ‘never a firang and only desi,’ it’s a rejection of America. It’s ungrateful, disrespectful, and frankly repulsive to live in this country since age seven, receive every freedom, education, and opportunity America offers, and still deny being American.”

Someone brings a child to the U.S., benefits from the opportunities here, yet the child’s own mother declares him “not an American at all.” If you’re running for mayor, pledging to govern the very people who extended you those opportunities, that seems like a problem.

Political identity is more than birthplace or passport—it’s about declaring allegiance, aligning values, owning responsibility. When a candidate rejects the label “American,” one must wonder: which nation’s values does he truly embrace? His campaign may speak of “justice” and “transforming New York,” but at its root is an identity stance that backs away from America.

 Mamdani’s background is complex. Dive into his family and you’ll find ideological terrain well to the left of mainstream America. His mother’s filmmaking has interrogated Western norms and uplifted diasporic identities; his father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a noted academic criticizing colonialism and Western power structures. That upbringing may have contributed to a global-citizen mindset—but global citizenry doesn’t equal American citizenry.

Some will excuse this as mere nuance or diaspora identity. But when the words are explicit—“he is not an Uhmericcan at all”—it’s more than nuance: it’s a repudiation of national identity. In politics, that matters.

For citizens of New York, especially those who’ve worked, served, sacrificed for this country, this should matter too. The mayor doesn’t represent just an ethnicity, community, or ideology—he represents the city and nation. He pledges fealty to the flag, to the system, and to the people. If the candidate himself says he doesn’t see himself as American, what does that say about his commitment?

Are we raising leaders who cherish America—or who merely ride within it without belonging to it?

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.