Zohran Mamdani’s Mother Once Bragged He’s “Not an American at All” in Unearthed Interview

A resurfaced interview with Zohran Mamdani’s mother is raising new questions about the socialist mayoral frontrunner’s ties to America — and whether he ever considered himself part of the country he now seeks to govern.

In a 2013 interview with the Hindustan Times, Mamdani’s mother, left-wing filmmaker Mira Nair, proudly declared that her son was “not an American at all,” instead describing him as a product of India and Uganda.

“He is a total desi,” Nair said, using a term for people of Indian descent. “Completely. We are not firangs at all. He is very much us. He is not an Uhmericcan [American] at all.”

Nair added that Mamdani, now a Democratic Socialist Assemblyman and leading candidate for New York City mayor, “was born in Uganda, raised between India and America,” and “thinks of himself as a Ugandan and as an Indian.”

At the time of the interview, Mamdani was 21 years old and attending Bowdoin College in Maine. He wouldn’t become a U.S. citizen until 2018 — just two years before running for office in Queens.

Nair also told the outlet that the family spoke Hindustani at home and that Mamdani had been deeply interested in politics from an early age, calling him a “very chaalu fellow” — a slang term for being cunning or street smart.

“He is very involved with current affairs, politics, and political issues,” she said. “I think he can be engaged in the world in some way to make a difference.”

The resurfaced comments come at a time when Mamdani’s path to U.S. citizenship is under renewed scrutiny. House Republicans have already called for an investigation into potential fraud or omission in his naturalization process, citing concerns about his anti-American views and previous support for foreign movements like BDS.

Mamdani, who once declared “there is no negotiating” with the NYPD and called for dismantling American policing, has been at the center of national controversy over his radical agenda. But his mother’s statements could further inflame the debate over his loyalties and fitness to lead a city he may never have truly embraced.

To critics, the remarks reinforce what they’ve been saying all along: Zohran Mamdani may be living in America, but his worldview — and his roots — are somewhere else entirely.