Politicians tend to be somewhat triumphalist in moments of triumph. So Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani could have been forgiven for a little exaltation as he spoke to his electrified supporters after winning the New York City mayoral election.

But his oration was more than that. He was downright sinister, glorying not just in his achievement but in having laid low his vanquished enemies and stuck it to others besides. He took off his smiling campaign mask and revealed his venomous self.

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