Zohran Mamdani’s Pride Month message to LGBTQ+ New Yorkers: We’ll protect you from Trump

Mayor Zohran Mamdani invited hundreds to a New York City courthouse Tuesday evening for his administration’s inaugural Pride Month celebration.

The event brought together New Yorkers of all different stripes, from politicians and activists to actors and drag artists. Mamdani told The Advocate that the celebration signified his administration’s broader commitment to supporting the queer community, especially given the breadth of attacks on LGBTQ+ rights under President Donald Trump.

“We are so proud of our status as a haven for queer people,” Mamdani said. The city is dedicated to “protecting trans and queer New Yorkers from these relentless attacks that we’re facing with the federal administration.”

Since taking office in January, Mamdani created the city’s first Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, launched a public awareness campaign around public safety for trans people, and earmarked $15 million for gender-affirming health care in the city’s executive budget. Plus, the city’s health department last week announced plans to open its own trans health clinic for adults.

The mayor said these efforts mark a “new chapter in New York City history.” They also come as the national political landscape around LGBTQ+ rights, and especially trans rights, has grown more hostile.

In his second term, Trump has limited access to gender-affirming care, targeted LGBTQ+ school resources, and made it harder for trans people to obtain passports, enlist in the military, and simply get recognized by their own government.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to an assembled crowd at a Pride Month celebration in lower Manhattan.Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

New Yorkers are protected from anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and breaches of health privacy by robust laws on both the city and state levels. But that has not shielded residents entirely from the fallout.

Threats from the Trump administration have led major New York City health providers to shutter gender-affirming care programs for youth. One such provider, Mount Sinai Health System, has even agreed to hand over sensitive records concerning trans patients to the federal government. Meanwhile, attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion have challenged LGBTQ+ inclusivity and visibility in schools and workplaces nationwide.

Mamdani told The Advocate that he hopes the measures his administration has adopted so far can help protect the city’s LGBTQ+ community. “We view it as part of a longer-term commitment to safeguarding the rights of queer and trans people across the city, across ages,” he said.

Still, as federal policies affecting the LGBTQ+ community change, it is unclear how the mayor or city government will fill certain gaps. For example, fewer hospitals now provide gender-affirming care to local youth, and the city’s forthcoming clinic will only serve adult patients. While Mamdani said the city’s gender-affirming care fund would help residents of all ages, he did not specify how it would support trans youth when The Advocate asked for clarification.

Tuesday’s celebration focused on uplifting the city’s LGBTQ+ community; beyond a space to socialize, it offered music, food, drink, and even free face glitter. But startling political realities like these proved an unavoidable topic of conversation, especially as they affect many attendees this Pride Month.

A Pride Month celebration in New York City.Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

Peppermint, an actress and drag artist who is the grand marshal of NYC Pride this year, and Taylor Brown, a lawyer and director of the city’s new Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, delivered remarks during the event. Both focused squarely on the need for activism and political advocacy to combat growing anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment on the national level.

“Regardless of all of the rhetoric and all of the lies and all of the misinformation, we are going to show them who we are as a community,” Peppermint said in her speech. “We’re definitely going to show them how New York City does it.”

Brown told The Advocate that supporting LGBTQ+ New Yorkers means ensuring that they, like all citizens, have access to a higher quality of life. That means policy efforts focused on affordability, housing, education, health care, and more, she said.

“Those are the things that people need, especially LGBTQIA+ people,” Brown said. “Those are the things that people need to truly live a self-sustaining, meaningful, and happy life. That’s what I want for everyone.”

Several hundred people attended Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Pride Month celebration in lower Manhattan.Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

Attendees who spoke with The Advocate said they were excited to see a mayor so visibly celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and echoed calls to support LGBTQ+ New Yorkers at the political level.

“I’m really excited and happy to be here with Mayor Mamdani and his first-ever Pride celebration,” Carl Wilson, a newly elected member of the New York City Council representing historic LGBTQ+ neighborhoods like Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, and Greenwich Village, told The Advocate. “But right now our community is under tremendous threat from Washington. We have to stand loudly and proudly like never before.”

“This is incredible, as a queer Middle Eastern person, to see our mayor standing up for queer New Yorkers. This is an amazing night,” Jackie Cox, a drag artist and former cast member of RuPaul’s Drag Race, told The Advocate. “It’s beyond.”