Democrat and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is under fire after a New York Times report revealed he identified as both “Asian” and “Black or African American” on his 2009 college application to Columbia University.
The revelation, part of a trove of hacked admissions files released last month, has ignited a wave of outrage and ridicule, with critics accusing Mamdani of racial dishonesty to boost his chances of admission during the Ivy League’s then-active affirmative action era.
Mamdani ultimately did not get into Columbia, but the application in question is drawing new scrutiny as he runs for mayor on a campaign built largely on his South Asian and Muslim identity.
“Ugandan” but not Black
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, but both of his parents — filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani — are of Indian descent. In an interview with the Times, Mamdani admitted his family has no Black ancestry.
“They’re all of Indian origin, from Gujarat,” he said.
Yet on his Columbia application, Mamdani checked the box for “Black or African American.” He told the Times he was trying to reflect the fact he was “an American who was born in Africa,” and cited the lack of a category for Indian-Ugandans.
“Most college applications don’t have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes trying to capture the fullness of my background,” Mamdani claimed.
Critics aren’t buying it.
Social media explodes
The backlash was immediate and brutal:
“Mamdani claimed to be ‘Black’ or ‘African American’ when he applied to Columbia. Mamdani was born in Uganda & lived there a few years, but he is very much South Asian & very much not black,” wrote Jerry Dunleavy IV. “Mamdani claims he wasn’t trying to give himself an advantage because Mamdani is a liar.”
Others pointed out the eerily similar pattern to Senator Elizabeth Warren, who falsely claimed Native American ancestry and faced widespread criticism during her failed presidential bid.
“Zohran Mamdani identified as a Black man on his college application. The latest in a long list of frauds from the Democrat Party,” wrote Alec Lace.
Discrepancy with campaign narrative
Throughout his campaign, Mamdani has emphasized his Muslim and South Asian identity, campaigning in Urdu and Bengali, and repeatedly touting himself as “the first South Asian elected official” running for mayor.
His main primary challenger, Andrew Cuomo, performed far better among Black and Hispanic voters, while Mamdani carried mostly white liberal neighborhoods — raising new questions about who Mamdani’s identity politics are really aimed at.
Meanwhile, his likely general election opponent, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, is Black and may benefit from the fallout if Mamdani’s identity scandal further alienates voters of color.
Trump allies fire back
While Mamdani tried to shift attention back to the Trump administration by blasting the passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” the story is gaining traction.
“Donald Trump is attacking me because he is desperate to distract from his war on working people,” Mamdani’s campaign posted on X.
But many observers see it differently: another Democrat caught manipulating identity politics for personal gain — and getting caught red-handed.
