Could the election of Mamdani as New York mayor show there is still hope for America?

Maybe Tuesday night’s results will jolt the sclerotic Democratic Party into promoting inspiring policy proposals so it triumphs in next year’s midterms, pulling the country back from Trump’s authoritarian grip, which looks looser — and shakier — now than it did last week

It felt bold to the point of scary when Mamdani looked into the camera to directly address Trump, starting off with the words: 'Turn up the volume.' Picture: AP/Yuki Iwamura

I moved from California to Dublin on January 15, the same day as Rosie O’Donnell. With all the press coverage about her self-exile from Donald Trump’s United States, I joked that media outlets might soon knock on my door. It didn’t happen. 

Once I saw the statistic that the number of Americans moving to Ireland had risen by an astounding 96% between 2024 and 2025, I got it: I am one of a multitude. And now that we know the results of this week’s elections across the US, many of us are feeling something we thought we might have lost: hope.