Zohran Mamdani – Live Laugh Love Do http://livelaughlovedo.com A Super Fun Site Tue, 02 Dec 2025 05:35:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 Karoline Leavitt Called Out For Botching Zohran Mamdani’s Name http://livelaughlovedo.com/culture-and-society/karoline-leavitt-called-out-for-botching-zohran-mamdanis-name/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/culture-and-society/karoline-leavitt-called-out-for-botching-zohran-mamdanis-name/#respond Sat, 19 Jul 2025 14:12:10 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/07/19/karoline-leavitt-called-out-for-botching-zohran-mamdanis-name/ [ad_1]

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was called out online this week after she markedly mispronounced the last name of Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.

During a White House briefing on Thursday, Leavitt was asked by a reporter why President Donald Trump said he won’t be getting involved in the New York City mayoral race. The press secretary said that Trump “reserves the right to get involved in races, or not get involved in races” before she leveled attacks at Mamdani, while appearing to pronounce his name “Zamdami.”

“Although [Trump] has gone as far as to say he absolutely does not want to see Zamdami elected — who is a known communist, who supports the abolishment of private property, the defunding of police,” she said.

Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, responded to a clip of Leavitt botching his name at the briefing in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.

Bryan Metzger, a senior politics reporter at Business Insider, had pointed out the mispronunciation in a post on X, writing: “The latest in the Zohran Mamdani mispronunciation saga: White House Press Sec Karoline Leavitt just referred to him as ‘Zamdami’ at her briefing.”

The latest in the Zohran Mamdani mispronunciation saga: White House Press Sec Karoline Leavitt just referred to him as “Zamdami” at her briefing.

— bryan metzger (@metzgov) July 17, 2025

The Democratic mayoral nominee responded to the post by sharing an edited clip taken from his appearance at a primary mayoral debate in June, in which he called out former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mispronouncing his name during the debate.

“And furthermore, the name is Mamdani, M-a-m-d-a-n-i,” he said on the debate stage at the time. “You should learn how to say it because we gotta get it right.”

In response to a HuffPost inquiry about the mispronunciation and Mamdani’s response, White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers shared the following, which includes several inaccuracies about Mamdani’s positions:

“Zohran Mamdani is a communist who supports price controls, defunding the police, abolishing private property, fighting ICE, eliminating prisons, disarming American citizens, higher taxes strictly for white people, and protecting criminal illegal aliens over New York City’s residents.

“The HuffPost should be more concerned with covering the fact that this radical is the new face of the Democrat party.”

Rogers also directed HuffPost to Leavitt’s tweet on Friday in which she once again falsely accused Mamdani of being a communist.

Mamdani was born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent. If elected, he would be the city’s first Muslim mayor. During a sit-down interview with Spectrum News NY1 on Thursday, Mamdani was asked whether he believes mispronunciations of his name are a “calculated act of disrespect.”

“I think there is an element of that, especially when it’s repeated,” he responded.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris similarly dealt with public figures, especially prominent conservatives, repeatedly mispronouncing her first name during her campaign for president last year. Trump, in particular, would often publicly pronounce Harris’ name as “Kuh-MA-luh,” instead of as “comma-la” — as Harris explained it should be pronounced.

A 2022 study from the National Library of Medicine points out that names are a reflection of identity, and that “the chronic mispronunciation of names can undermine one’s identity and be experienced as a microaggression.”

But Deepak Sarma, inaugural distinguished scholar in the public humanities at Case Western Reserve University, told HuffPost that the repeated mispronunciation of names of people of color — especially those with non-Christian names — in the current political landscape is overall “no longer a mere microaggression.”

“The GOP tried this with President Barack Obama and then on countless occasions with Vice President Kamala Harris. The racist intention is, these days, overt, rather than covert,” they said.

“In elite settings, like a White House briefing, mispronunciation signals what is called performative ignorance: an intentional refusal to acknowledge cultural or political legitimacy of a name and the person bearing that name.”

– Ibrahim N. Abusharif, associate professor in residence at Northwestern University in Qatar

And as it relates to Leavitt’s mispronunciation of Mamdani, Sarma said it is “indeed inappropriate and appalling coming from a White House press secretary.”

“The rules about what is acceptable are changing, and Trump and his MAGA minions revel in this,” they said. “We may be entering a time when such behavior is lauded rather than censured and regarded as an admissible strategy.”

Repeatedly mispronouncing names can “function as symbolic erasure.”

“Consistently mispronouncing names — especially those from non-Western, racialized, or marginalized communities — can function as symbolic erasure,” said Ibrahim N. Abusharif, associate professor in residence at Northwestern University in Qatar.

“It suggests that the speaker either does not deem the name important enough to learn, or finds it foreign, difficult, or unworthy of effort,” he told HuffPost. “Strategic laziness, in other words.”

And when people, especially those with public platforms, repeatedly mispronounce a person of color’s name, Abusharif said that such a “‘gaffe’ perpetuates a hierarchy in name-making, in which Anglicized or familiar names are ‘normative,’ while others are rendered ‘other.’”

“In elite settings, like a White House briefing, mispronunciation signals what is called performative ignorance: an intentional refusal to acknowledge cultural or political legitimacy of a name and the person bearing that name,” he said.

“It also upholds white normativity in language. The burden of adjustment falls disproportionately on those with ‘unfamiliar’ names, forcing them to accept altered pronunciations or risk invisibility,” he continued.

Sarma said that the White House is “continuing to disseminate the myth that America is a white Christian nation and that non-white, non-Christian, immigrants are not welcome.”

“They are regarded (or to be regarded) as second-class citizens whose names do not even deserve to be pronounced properly,” they continued.

“There’s not a name on earth that is not foreign to somebody,” Abusharif said.

Abusharif emphasized that Mamdani’s name “poses no phonetic challenge to English-language speakers” and that “all the letters and sounds of the name are represented in the English alphabet.”

“So in this case, mispronunciation functions to diminish Mamdani’s identity in a social and political space,” he said.

Regardless, Abusharif pointed out, “there’s not a name on earth that is not foreign to somebody.”

“If we’re going to hide behind the veil of ‘too hard to pronounce,’ names would lose all meaning,” he said.

And at a certain point, Abusharif thinks, it becomes “counter-productive” to correct mispronunciations because “doing so inadvertently acknowledges the difficulty in the pronunciation. Over-correction can confirm biases.”

“Although I was born and raised in Chicago, I do have experience with people mispronouncing my name,” he later added. “And when I notice that they’re not even trying to pronounce it right, I keep my distance.”

Sarma said that they have had mentors and friends shorten their name to “Dee” or “Deep,” or used nicknames like “Puck” with the excuse that their name was “too hard to pronounce.”

“It is never an excuse to allow such renaming, and I regret not asking them to learn how to pronounce mine properly,” they said.

“It is important for everyone, and especially public figures such as Mamdani, to address these racist behaviors lest they become even more acceptable than they already are,” Sarma continued, before later adding: “America is, and always has been, a country of immigrants. The sooner that all Americans accept this and accept that they, too, are immigrants, the better.”

“To intentionally mispronounce a name is at best childish, and at worst racist,” they said. “Reluctance and obstinance to learn how to say another’s name properly and respectfully will not make America great again but will hasten the disintegration of this once great civilization.”



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]]> http://livelaughlovedo.com/culture-and-society/karoline-leavitt-called-out-for-botching-zohran-mamdanis-name/feed/ 0 Internet Alpha Males Want White America to Fear Zohran Mamdani http://livelaughlovedo.com/technology-and-gadgets/internet-alpha-males-want-white-america-to-fear-zohran-mamdani/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/technology-and-gadgets/internet-alpha-males-want-white-america-to-fear-zohran-mamdani/#respond Wed, 02 Jul 2025 04:53:54 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/07/02/internet-alpha-males-want-white-america-to-fear-zohran-mamdani/ [ad_1]

Zohran Mamdani will have to get used to it. The Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City hasn’t even won the general election, but he’s already become public enemy number one in the online manosphere, the world of alpha male influencers and masculinity content creators who thrive on having an enemy to attack.

Mamdani, 33, a Democratic Socialist and state assembly member, is facing a digital firestorm from a coalition of conservative commentators, far-right figures, and online alpha influencers. These men, who have built vast online followings by selling a hyper-individualist, hyper-capitalist vision of masculinity, are now rallying their audiences around one shared goal: stopping Mamdani’s rise to power.

The attacks are deeply racialized, overtly Islamophobic, and framed as a battle between “the West” and “the East.” Mamdani, who is Indian-Ugandan and Muslim, has been branded a “Muslim communist” and accused of being a Trojan horse for radical anti-American ideologies.

“New York City is the battlefield for the future of the West,” declared right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk on June 30.

 

“He wants to steal other people’s stuff,” Kirk wrote in another post, calling Mamdani “resentful of the rich, of white people, of Westerners.”

 

Kirk, who has over 5 million followers on X, is just one voice in a growing chorus. Others include billionaire Trump supporter Bill Ackman, who ominously warned, “Watch him and listen to his words,” and tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya, who claimed that if Mamdani wins, “it will most likely ruin NYC and degrade one of the world’s greatest cities.”

Jack Posobiec, a far-right influencer known for promoting conspiracy theories, posted a cinematic trailer filled with violent protest footage and flag-burning imagery. “UNDERSTAND NYC IS ON THE SAME TRAJECTORY AS LONDON,” he wrote, invoking a frequent manosphere talking point: that the city will decline under a Muslim mayor, just as they claim London has under Sadiq Khan.

Their goal is clear: make Zohran Mamdani look dangerous. Use fear, Islamophobia, and racialized language to scare New Yorkers, especially white, middle-class moderates, away from a candidate who speaks openly about wealth redistribution, affordable housing, and taxing billionaires. Paint him not just as a progressive, but as a threat to civilization.

This is classic manosphere playbook strategy. The manosphere refers to the sprawling ecosystem of male influencers, YouTubers, and podcast hosts who monetize grievances about masculinity, feminism, race, and power. It includes figures like Andrew Tate, Sneako, and Ben Shapiro, and operates by casting progressive politics as an existential threat to men.

In Mamdani, they’ve found a perfect antagonist: a young, charismatic, nonwhite Muslim leftist with real political momentum.

They mock his campaign videos while refusing to address the issues he actually talks about: sky-high rent, public transportation, homelessness, and the city’s wealth gap. Instead, they post memes, inflammatory edits, and clips taken out of context to project an image of chaos and destruction.

“Zohran Mamdani’s radicalism is the future of the Democratic Party,” warned Shapiro, adding, “mainly because of the cuckold Democrats rolling over for him.”

 

“This guy is bad,” Ackman posted flatly, offering no policy critique, only vibes and threat.

 

What is at stake for these online figures is their ability to influence real-world politics. By creating a high-profile enemy, they can consolidate their audience and test their power. Their strategy is to redefine Mamdani before he can define himself to a broader electorate. While they raise the specter of New York’s decline, they rarely offer solutions to the very real problems Mamdani’s campaign addresses, chiefly the city’s crushing cost of living. This is particularly ironic given that many of these figures portray themselves as self-made wealthy men who have succeeded through sheer effort.

Mamdani won the Democratic primary by defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a surprising upset. Because New York is a Democratic stronghold, he has a good chance of winning the general election scheduled for November 4. This makes the campaign to define him now all the more urgent for his opponents.



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]]> http://livelaughlovedo.com/technology-and-gadgets/internet-alpha-males-want-white-america-to-fear-zohran-mamdani/feed/ 0 A self-described Democratic Socialist – NYC’s next mayor http://livelaughlovedo.com/finance/a-self-described-democratic-socialist-could-be-nycs-next-mayor-and-the-ultra-rich-are-in-revolt-hot-commie-summer/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/finance/a-self-described-democratic-socialist-could-be-nycs-next-mayor-and-the-ultra-rich-are-in-revolt-hot-commie-summer/#respond Sat, 28 Jun 2025 10:32:10 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/06/28/a-self-described-democratic-socialist-could-be-nycs-next-mayor-and-the-ultra-rich-are-in-revolt-hot-commie-summer/ [ad_1]

Billionaires are outraged after self-described Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment candidate Andrew Cuomo to become the Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race.

The 33-year-old Mamdani was, until recently, a little-known state assembly member and came into the Democratic primary as an underdog, unlikely to surmount former Gov. Cuomo’s brand recognition and billionaire backers. But his proposals—which included rent freezes, free bus fare, and city-owned grocery stores—ultimately resonated with New Yorkers who have faced rising rents and heaps of economic pain in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Mamdani has all but clinched the nomination after Cuomo conceded the race this week, and because of his Democratic Socialist label and controversial proposals, billionaires have rushed to paint the young politician as a threat to business, democracy, and the Democratic Party. Many of the billionaires protesting also lost financially, donating to “Fix the City,” a nonprofit group that received about $25 million in donations and spent loads on pro-Cuomo ads and anti-Mamdani ads, per Business Insider.

Here are some of the loudest (and richest) voices attacking Mamdani after his landmark win. 

Bill Ackman (Net worth $8.09 billion)

One of the loudest voices condemning Mamdani is activist investor and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Ackman, who founded Pershing Square Capital Management, let loose on Mamdani in one of his characteristic posts on X. 

In response to Mamdani’s win, the hedge funder said he and his allies would saturate New York City’s election with donations to try to defeat him. 

After calling Mamdani “young and charming,” Ackman criticized him for his comments about the New York Police Department, and his proposals for rent freezes and city-owned grocery stores. He also claimed a Mamdani mayoral victory would push big business to exit New York. 

“Socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country,” wrote Ackman on X. “The ability for NYC to offer services for the poor and needy, let alone the average New Yorker, is entirely dependent on NYC being a business-friendly environment and a place where wealthy residents are willing to spend 183 days and assume the associated tax burden.”

Ackman also promised hundreds of millions of dollars of funds “will pour in,” if the right candidate to oppose Mamdani appears.

Elon Musk (Net worth $368 billion)

Now essentially on the sidelines of government after running President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, Tesla CEO Elon Musk still found time to chime in on Mamdani’s win, even if he held back major criticism. 

In several comments reacting to other users’ tweets on X, Musk made his skepticism about Mamdani known. Musk commented a laughing emoji in reaction to another user’s post criticizing Mamdani saying “queer liberation means defund the police.” 

John Catsimatidis (Net worth $4.5 billion) 

The billionaire founder of the Gristedes grocery chain threatened to move the company out of New York should Mamdani win the NYC mayoral election. Catsimatidis threatened to move the company’s corporate offices to New Jersey.

“If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations,” Catsimatidis told Fox Business.

Catsimatidis also took issue with Cuomo and the way he ran his campaign. 

“It’s not a done deal, but Cuomo screwed up real big because he tried to do what President Biden did and hide in the basement for two months,” Catsimatidis told Forbes.

However, the grocery chain magnate said Trump may be able to help current New York City mayor Eric Adams beat out Mamdani in the general election in November. Adams has vowed to run as an independent.

Dan Loeb (Net worth $3.2 billion) 

Dan Loeb, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Third Point, donated $250,000 to support “Fix the City,” which backed Cuomo. 

After Mamdani’s presumptive win, Loeb criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s comment calling Mamdani’s campaign a “formidable grassroots coalition.”

“For anyone who had a doubt that our Governor is a clueless, unqualified buffoon,” Loeb said in a post on X.

Loeb also cheekily declared that “It’s officially hot commie summer.”

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]]> http://livelaughlovedo.com/finance/a-self-described-democratic-socialist-could-be-nycs-next-mayor-and-the-ultra-rich-are-in-revolt-hot-commie-summer/feed/ 0 Zohran Mamdani May Have Renewed My Belief in Electoral Politics http://livelaughlovedo.com/relationships/zohran-mamdani-may-have-renewed-my-belief-in-electoral-politics/ http://livelaughlovedo.com/relationships/zohran-mamdani-may-have-renewed-my-belief-in-electoral-politics/#respond Thu, 26 Jun 2025 11:47:46 +0000 http://livelaughlovedo.com/2025/06/26/zohran-mamdani-may-have-renewed-my-belief-in-electoral-politics/ [ad_1]

This is The Parlour, a place for intimate conversation, a real-time archive, a shared diary passed between a rotating cast of queer characters every week in an attempt to capture a kaleidoscopic view of what it’s like to be a queer person right here, right now.

I stopped believing in electoral politics—at least enough to stop working in the field—after campaigning for a North Carolina State Senate candidate in 2020 who ultimately lost his race after his affair was exposed. A month and change before Election Day, texts between Cal Cunningham and a team member on his campaign—a consenting adult—were leaked, and the words “You are historically sexy” were burned into my brain for what feels like will be the rest of my life.

Cunningham was the Democrats’ true shot at having a pro-choice North Carolina State Senator and finally unseating evil Thom Tillis. If lifelong Republican voters were going to vote for a Democratic candidate, it was going to be Cunningham. He was a white man, a veteran, and—until the illusion was shattered—a respectable family man. He wasn’t even pro-abortion; he just believed politicians should stay out of the decisions made between doctors and their patients. He was going to win.

So, yeah, I was pretty fucking pissed when the following text exchange put trans rights, abortion access, and other “progressive” values at risk:
Woman: “I want to kiss you.”
Cunningham: “And I kiss you back. A lot.”

In the last five years, I’ve taken a significant step back from supporting candidates and refocused my attention on grassroots campaigns, mutual aid, and other forms of local organizing. I didn’t invest any political or social energy into any candidates—not even Kamala Harris—because of my lost faith in the Democratic Party, the two-party system, and the lessons I’d learned about not idolizing politicians.

That is, until eight months ago, when New York State Assemblyman Zohran Kwame Mamdani launched his campaign for Mayor of New York City. Mamdani’s campaign was the first time in a long time that I felt comfortable publicly advocating for a candidate rather than a cause—and that’s because his entire candidacy was a cause. Mamdani skillfully and authentically embodied the values of his current and future constituents at each and every step of the race. As the kids would say, he stood on business.

For the non–New Yorkers—though I’ve seen this race have international reach—Mamdani’s campaign focused on the following issues and values:

    • Make the most expensive city in the world affordable to live in.
    • Improve public transportation by making city buses faster and free.
    • Invest in public safety—not by giving the NYPD more money, but by creating a Department of Community Safety.
    • Stand up to Trump’s fascism and keep ICE out of New York.
    • Freeze the rent and actually enforce rent stabilization.
    • Increase taxes for millionaires and billionaires.
    • Create free and accessible childcare.

Many would call these campaign goals radical. People have called them unrealistic and unattainable. But last night, just a few hours after the polls closed in NYC, while I sat across from my girlfriend at an Italian restaurant celebrating our two-year anniversary, Zohran Kwame Mamdani—the Muslim socialist born in Kampala, Uganda, and raised in Queens, NY—won the Democratic primary election and became the people’s candidate for mayor.

My girlfriend has been volunteering for Mamdani’s campaign for months—canvassing, phone banking, and using her social media platform to inform new and returning voters about the importance of ranked-choice voting. While I haven’t had the time to volunteer, I’ve also been lending my social clout to Mamdani’s campaign. And by that, I do mean posting thirst traps while wearing my Hot Boys for Zohran shirt.

Motti takes a mirror selfie in a hot boys for Zohran shirt

So many conversations in our home and among friends in the last few weeks have centered Mamdani and the chance to take NYC back from the Eric Adamses and Andrew Cuomos of the world. Comedians, specifically, have taken a vested interest in supporting Mamdani’s campaign—hosting standup show rallies, creating informative yet accessible content, organizing phone banks, and doing whatever they can to share the message: #DontRankCuomo.

Yesterday, in the middle of Election Day, my girlfriend joined a last-minute virtual phonebank alongside Cole Escola, Cynthia Nixon, and Sarah Sherman. I passed by canvassers for Zohran standing in 100-degree heat with ear-to-ear smiles on their faces. I watched as fellow candidate Brad Lander used whatever fight he had left in him to prop up Mamdani’s lead. I scrolled through friends’ posts from California, Massachusetts, Florida, and overseas—all rooting for New York.

For the first time in a very, very long time, we all had hope. Hope that in a time when we’re watching our dictator drop bombs on Iran, masked men kidnap our neighbors, and trans folks’ rights get signed away—an alternative exists. A socialist candidate can win the vote of half a million New Yorkers. A Muslim man can become mayor of New York City. A candidate whose campaign was funded by 20,000 individuals can defeat a name-recognized, super-PAC-backed candidate with $25 million to spend on smear campaigns. Engaged and concerned voters can stick it to The New York Times, The Atlantic, and the motherfucking establishment.

It’s all so incredibly exciting for New Yorkers and even beyond—but especially exciting for my girlfriend and me, who now share an anniversary with this historic moment for change. Even better, we live two blocks away from Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor, in one of only two neighborhoods in all of NYC that ranked Cuomo over Mamdani. We are ecstatic to get Adams out of his position and his mansion, and move someone in who we’re proud to call a neighbor.

The work certainly isn’t done, and Mamdani still needs to defeat Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, independent incumbent Eric Adams, and maybe even Cuomo if he chooses to run in the general election this November. But it feels damn good to be a New Yorker right now. And while I remain skeptical of and disheartened by electoral politics, the collective power I just witnessed brings me hope democracy can work again, despite the odds.

Britt Migs poses with Zohran Mamdani

My girlfriend and the next mayor of New York City

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