Bengaluru: Elon Musk has drawn criticism after appearing to deliberately misspell New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's name in a social media post endorsing rival Andrew Cuomo. In his message on X, Musk wrote that supporting Republican Curtis Sliwa would essentially benefit "Mumdumi or whatever his name is," urging followers to vote for Cuomo instead. The statement came just before the November 4 mayoral election and suggested that a vote for Sliwa could inadvertently help Mamdani, who has gained momentum in recent polls with campaign focuses on childcare, affordable housing, and other municipal issues.

Remember to vote tomorrow in New York!Bear in mind that a vote for Curtis is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is CUOMO!

- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 3, 2025

Racist Jibe?

Numerous social media users emphasized that purposely mispronouncing names of people of colour is a clear indicator of racial bias, particularly when those names are straightforward to pronounce. Crstl Tech CEO Dipti Desai noted that while disagreeing with someone's politics is fair, intentionally mangling their name represents juvenile behavior. She wrote,“You can sorely dislike one's policies, but butchering a person's name on purpose is a third rate, middle-schooler tactic. Oh wait...”

You can sorely dislike one's policies, but butchering a person's name on purpose is a third rate, middle-schooler tactic. Oh wait... Dipti Desai (@diptidesaisf) November 3, 2025

Journalist Mehdi Hasan made reference to Musk's South African background in his criticism. "You can take the boy out of apartheid, but can you take the apartheid out of the boy?" he wrote.

“Whatever his name is”You can take the boy out of apartheid but can you really take the apartheid out of the boy? Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) November 3, 2025

Anti-Muslim Hate Watch organistaion TellMAMA wrote,“We remember this. A time when our names were“Too hard to pronounce”, Anglicised and pronounced“because it is easier to say”, OR“Whatever your name is”, OR“I will call you John” not Jagjit. From the richest man on the earth, minimisation of your identity and sense of who you are. Are we back there now? Really?”

We remember this. A time when our names were:-“Too hard to pronounce”,- Anglicised and pronounced“because it is easier to say”, OR-“Whatever your name is”, OR-“I will call you John” not Jagjit,From the richest man on the earth, minimisation of your identity and sense... Tell MAMA UK (@TellMamaUK) November 3, 2025

Mamdani, age 34, is the son of Uganda-born academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair, both of Indian heritage. If successful in his bid, he would make history as NYC's first Muslim mayor. Notably, both Cuomo and Sliwa had also shown difficulty correctly pronouncing Mamdani's name during debates and campaign appearances. Cuomo is competing as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary election.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social warning that a Mamdani victory could result in reduced federal funding for New York City. Trump described Mamdani as a communist candidate and suggested his leadership would be disastrous, claiming such political philosophies have failed throughout history. The president stated he would provide only the minimum federally required funding if Mamdani won.

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