New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani crashed Jimmy Fallon’s monologue on The Tonight Show Monday night to deliver what might be the most on-brand mayoral joke in late-night history.
WHAT’S GOING ON: The recently-elected democratic socialist mayor made a surprise appearance during Fallon’s weather-related monologue about the brutal blizzard blanketing the country.
After Fallon rattled off some predictably mediocre jokes about the cold (comparing New York’s snow-to-slush transformation to “an avocado”), and one pretty funny Trump jab, Mamdani strolled on stage to wild cheers from the studio audience.
“Jimmy, let me try one,” Mamdani said prompting a raucous standing ovation.
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“It’s so cold in New York City the rent froze itself. Goodnight everybody!” He followed up with a public service message: “But seriously, stay inside, stay warm, and stay safe.”
THE DETAILS: This marked Mamdani’s first appearance on The Tonight Show, though he’s no stranger to late-night television. During his campaign, he sat down with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert alongside city comptroller Brad Lander.
Making government workers look like the heroes they are.
— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) January 25, 2026
Democrats could've been doing this for decades instead of letting Republicans get away with "the scariest words in the english language are 'I'm the government and i'm here to help.' https://t.co/THmOWBFZvQ
Mamdani was sworn in as New York City’s mayor on January 1st after winning the election in November and immediately got to work. His video about the storm that battered much of the country went viral.
zohran mamdani on a random sunday while the entire country is falling apart https://t.co/UfFfe4Dq3N pic.twitter.com/PqZgowHfSc
— 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔤 📚 (@saint_morg) January 25, 2026
WHY IT MATTERS: Of course, politicians doing late-night appearances is nothing new. But there’s something telling about a mayor whose go-to punchline is about the housing crisis crushing his constituents.
During his Colbert appearance, Mamdani laid out his vision for the Democratic Party: “Do we move forward with the same politicians of the past, the same policies of the past that delivered us this present, or do we move forward with a new generation of leadership, one that is actually looking to serve the people?”
Whether a rent freeze joke on network television translates to actual rent relief remains to be seen. But at minimum, New Yorkers now have a mayor who can land a punchline—and who chose housing costs over the usual weather-related fluff when given a national platform.