Politician, 34, Debuts Divisive New Facial Hair
One person said he now looks like “Super Mario in disguise.”
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New York City’s mayor has revealed a divisive new look.
Zohran Mamdani, 34, debuted a thick mustache on November 1, sparking mixed reactions online.
Before the facial hair change-up, the millennial politician had been the city’s first mayor with a beard since 1913, when William Jay Gaynor died in office.
A representative from his office told The Cut that the mayor is participating in Movember to “raise awareness around men’s health this month.”
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani (C), New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (R), and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stand outside Murphy's Sports Bar on November 1, 2026, in Astoria, Queens, New York City.
Dave Sanders-Pool/Getty Images
The mayor was last seen wearing his signature beard at Halloween celebrations and in a Día de los Muertos video shared over the weekend.
By Sunday morning, however, his luscious beard was nowhere to be found in photos and videos of Mamdani handing out water to runners at Sunday’s New York City Marathon.
Mayor William Jay Gaynor (right), seen with Rear Admiral Chin Pih Kwang in 1911, was the last New York City mayor with a beard before Mamdani.
Sepia Times/Sepia Times/Universal Images Gro
“No f---king way!” one runner gushed. After the mayor told her she was doing great, beating his time by three minutes, she disagreed, but said, “You have changed my whole race right now.”
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez watch the Buffalo Bills play the Baltimore Ravens at Murphy's Sports Bar in Queens on November 1, 2026.
Dave Sanders-Pool/Getty Images
By the time the Buffalo Bills-Baltimore Ravens game rolled around on Sunday afternoon, a slight shadow had already started to appear as he watched the football game with Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
On Monday, The Cut declared him “Mayor Mustache,” sharing photos of his new look and prompting divided reactions.
Some people compared Zohran Mamdani to a popular game character.
Instagram/Newyorkers
“Movember? He is pulling it off,” one person commented on Instagram with a heart-eyed emoji.
Another disagreed: “I prefer the old look. Not this.”
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Some even mistakenly thought the person photographed was not Mamdani at all: “I thought it was someone dressing up like him for Halloween.”
One popular Instagram comment with almost 30,000 likes compared him to a popular mustached game character, reading, “He looks like Super Mario in disguise.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani typically wears a beard.
David Dee Delgado/Reuters
The politician’s hair previously made headlines in June when he confirmed that he takes minoxidil, a hair-loss prevention medication, to maintain his thick strands and impressive hairline.
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