New York froze in disbelief, as though the city itself had paused to absorb an event so unprecedented it seemed impossible. Street vendors halted mid-sale, yellow cabs screeched to avoid collisions, and pedestrians on the sidewalks stopped in confusion, staring at their phones and at each other, trying to process the news. In the span of mere hours, a foreign president—someone who had ruled a country with an iron grip and a network of loyalty, fear, and corruption—had been seized by a foreign power, flown across borders, and delivered into the heart of the United States, right into New York City, Mamdani’s city. It was as though decades of international policy, covert operations, and political maneuvering had culminated in a single, explosive moment, and the city itself felt the tremor. Continue reading…
