Learning Lessons from Zohran Mamdani’s Rise

Is this a glimpse into the future for American politics under the nation’s current demographic slide into multiculturalism?

Earlier this week, New York City councilman Zohran Mamdani, a far-left Muslim socialist, won the city’s Democrat primary for Mayor and is the presumptive frontrunner to win the position – a move that many fear is a glimpse into the future for American politics under the nation’s current demographic slide into multiculturalism.

Mamdani rose as an underdog to gain momentum throughout the campaign, defeating disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo and several other contenders in the primary. He is expected to go against current NYC Mayor Eric Adams, whose indiscretions have been covered ad nauseum on Stone Cold Truth, running as an independent; Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, running as a Republican; and Cuomo, who is also expected to run as an independent after losing the primary.

The likelihood of a four way race bodes well for Mamdani’s chances as he will have an army of his passionate supporters working to get out the vote for him in November. This is a worst case scenario for New York City, which was damaged perhaps more than any other city in the U.S. in the wake of the COVID crisis and has still yet to fully recover. Mamdani’s radical redistributionist policies will likely deliver the final death blow to the Big Apple as the wealthy and the middle class and businesses large and small will be scurrying to find greener pastures.

Political insiders are left asking themselves: How could this have happened? How could someone with such a radical disposition have won over so many voters? It certainly speaks to the Democrat Party’s leftward lurch, but that fact belies the true story of Mamdani’s success. Mamdani succeeded because he, in the mirror image of President Trump, ran against a corrupt cronyist system that is reviled by the people – positioning himself brilliantly as an outsider and a bold reformer.

A video on ‘Halalflation’ demonstrates Mamdani’s impressive political instincts. In the video, Mamdani interviews food truck owners and asks them about the reasons for inflated costs of popular chicken and lamb dishes. They explain how a Kafkaesque bureaucratic mess makes them pay thousands of dollars to permit holders to be able to operate their businesses, and Mamdani promotes active measures in the city council that would streamline this process to, as he puts it, “make Halal $8 dollars again.”

Watching this video, Mamdami comes off as more of a libertarian than a socialist. He effectively frames himself as a man of the people in tune with the annoyances and indignities endured by ordinary people in New York City. To contrast, his opponents were emblematic of the corrupt political class that has been in power for generations. Cuomo attempted his comeback after being swept out of office in a #MeToo scandal, a shameful example of a career politician addicted to feeding at the public trough.

Mamdami has been able to score political points by dunking on Cuomo and current Mayor Adams repeatedly. One exchange that showed Mamdami’s acumen as well as the out-of-touch nature of the political class was a Mayoral debate exchange over visiting foreign countries. After a debate moderator asked which country each candidate would visit first as Mayor, Cuomo and Mamdami’s other opponents each stated Israel or Ukraine. Mamdami responded that he would stay focused on New York City and solving problems for the people in the city regardless of their ethnic background, which he was then attacked for. The political class unwittingly set the stage for Mamdami to stand out among the pack.

Mamdami toned down his radicalism on the campaign trail, presenting himself as more of a common sense progressive than a Marxist ideologue. This was a cynical move to shroud his true intentions. Make no mistake about it, Mamdami’s policies are dangerously anti-American. He wants to ban immigration enforcement in the City, hike taxes on the wealthy, institute rent controls, subsidize housing and healthcare, create a hate crime task force to police free speech, and use the government to nationalize grocery stores.

The rise of Mamdami is a signal that the Populist Left is on the rise. Sen. Bernie Sanders may be winding down, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be a punchline, but there is a generation of socialist politicians who are rising in their shadow. Some of these politicians, like Mamdami, will be savvy and formidable. They will be adept at co-opting populist rhetoric to enact their extreme agenda. If Republicans do not double down on MAGA, they will lose the country to these demagogues.

Only an America First Republican Party that delivers results on the most important issue of all, immigration, can stop this threat. Immigration is an Achilles heel for socialists like Mamdami as their pro-worker facade collapses as they shill for illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants cause wages for American workers to fall and their proliferation is supported by the corporate elite for that very reason. Republicans must stand for the American worker, deliver results to stop illegal immigration as President Trump has, in order to repel the threat of Mamdami and his ilk who are rising quickly through the Democrat ranks.