The People's Guide to Mamdani, Part Two

from Apple store lines to breadlines

You can find the first part here, in which I discuss Mamdani’s background, his parents, and whether he is a literal socialist who condones Islamic terrorism.

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The left has finally found its analogue to President Trump in Zohran Mamdani, another affluent New Yorker who likes to rant against his fellow elites, a populist known for his disrespectful rhetoric, who uses identity as a political weapon, who has mastered the modern media ecosystem, and who has a charismatic cult of personality licking his boots. Also like Trump, Mamdani brings something fresh to politics. For Trump, it was his unstoppable energy coupled with an anti-PC plainspokenness, a blast of oxygen after years of suffocation under progressive oppression (which is just like regular oppression, but with progressive values). For Mamdani, it’s also his energy, and his groundedness. On June 20, he walked the length of Manhattan, schlepping along for seven hours and greeting his fellow New Yorkers as he made his way. If that doesn’t help you understand why people like him, consider that during the first Democratic mayoral primary debate, candidates were asked which country they’d visit first, if elected. Everyone said Israel. Everyone but Mamdani. He straightened, smiled, and said he would stay in New York and “focus on New Yorkers across the five boroughs.” And damn, if that isn’t the right answer. Even more surprising, he listens, and not just to allies, but to political enemies as well. When was the last time you saw that on either side of the horseshoe? And yet, after sustained pressure, and a personal conversation with a Jewish woman about her memories of a bombing, Mamdani reversed course on globalize the intifada, saying he will not use the phrase and will discourage its use. That doesn’t solve the problem, because for one thing, the phrase carries historical freight, including explicit calls for murder, that cannot be brushed aside with political theatrics. But if you’re a Trump fan who hates this guy, and you consider yourself a fair dealer, then you gotta ask yourself, when was the last time Trump admitted he was wrong in the face of pressure from political foes? Still and all, Mamdani may be slicker than a boiled onion, but the man is a socialist, and if he was running for mayor of Caracas, Venezuela, then I wouldn’t care. But we’re talking about Gotham, the 212, the modern Rome. Chuck a rock into that pond and the whole world gets wet. And so…

What Is to Be Done?

In 1902, Lenin asked in one of his more famous essays, What Is to Be Done?, meaning it as a revolutionary call to arms. In New York, the same question arises in a very different key, not about seizing the state, but about how to confront a charismatic young socialist whose energy and authenticity are undeniable, but whose ideology is a dealbreaker. The measured and methodical conservative

Jonah Goldberg

, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, called Mamdani’s surprise primary victory “disastrous for New York City and fantastic news for the Trump administration,” labeling Mamdani “a Muslim AOC.” Academics provide further perspective. Cass Sunstein has long shown how group polarization pushes movements toward extremes, while political scientist Lilliana Mason documents how identity-based partisan groups have evolved into a partisan mega‑identity that incorporates race, religion, class, values, and more. And when that happens, people tend to favor group loyalty over policy considerations, scientific data, even their own lying eyes. A Mamdani mayoralty, if it is to succeed, would need to resist precisely those pressures by building cross-pressured coalitions that force him to listen beyond his base, which he has already proven capable of doing. But even if he can pull that off, which is a huge ask given the ideological puritanism of his DSA support base, there’s still the red elephant in the room.

“Zohran for Mayor” poster in the East Village, June 2025