Mayor Robert Wagner's wife knew being NYC's first lady is no easy task: 'Politics are vicious'

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani with his wife Rama Duwaji at his election watch party on Nov. 4, 2025. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Stand by your Mam

NYC’s new mayor-elect — a true mazel tov for 8 million taxpayers — has a wife. She so far hasn’t said a word. Susan Wagner, whose husband Robert F. was first elected mayor in 1953, told me, “No fun place to be.

“Our official car wasn’t safe. Springs were broken. Picking up dignitaries like General de Gaulle with wind blowing in on both sides? It always broke down.”

Tall, blond, handsome, chic blue suit that she said, “I bought on sale,” told me: “Politician’s wives need a sense of humor. Plus patience, thick skin and inability to hear remarks like, ‘I’ve seen that dress on her before.’ I answer, ‘And you’ll see it again!’ ”

Robert F.