Steve Krakauer is a NewsNation contributor and executive producer of “The Megyn Kelly Show.” He previously worked at CNN, TheBlaze, NBC and Fox News.
Zohran Mamdani is 33 years old, a millennial born in the ‘90s. His wife is even younger — she’s a legit Gen Z 28-year-old. And he is likely to be the next mayor of New York City, America’s largest city and clearly the most influential mayoral post in the country. Every recent poll has him up by double digits, some by as much as 28 points.
He is also an avowed socialist — a “Democratic Socialist” to be exact, but a socialist nonetheless. He has a litany of uber-woke Twitter posts in his past. He is, at first glance, a radical progressive who will fundamentally transform (to use the old Obama phrase) the biggest power center in the world.
Or maybe he won’t. What if Mamdani disappoints his most ardent supporters, and doesn’t live up to the negative hype of his strongest critics? What if he just does a pretty good job? Because there’s a scenario where he makes a profound impact on not just NYC but the entire two-party system in America by performing adequately to solidly as mayor. He can remake American politics by simply being … normal. And the establishments of both parties should be nervous at this prospect.
There’s evidence it’s possible. For example, the platform page on Mamdani’s campaign site begins with a focus on housing — freeze the rent, build affordable housing and crack down on bad landlords. Then it shifts to safety, and the need to “deliver the sense of safety and security that everyone should feel walking down our streets.” You have to get down to point five on “climate” and point six on “LGBTQIA+ Protections” before you drift into the comfortably woke.
Mamdani’s campaign was full of made-for-social-media messaging, and one of the more viral ads was based around what he dubbed “Halalflation.” The crux of the video was talking to street meat vendors about why they sold a plate of chicken and rice for $10, and what it boiled down to was a bunch of bureaucratic red tape. As mayor, he said he’d make that plate of halal eight bucks instead. Simple, clear, messaging — and nothing to scare away those who see socialism as a dirty word.
Even his more socialism-ish policies aren’t as terrifying when you get past the headline. Yes, he floated government-run grocery stores. But when you get into the fine print, what he really wants to do is launch a pilot program with one of these in each of the five boroughs. Gristedes and Fairway Market aren’t shutting down or being taken over by Mamdani’s goon squad of grocers, despite how many of his supporters actually would like that to happen.
It’s no secret Mamdani has been a prolific poster on social media, and let his progressive stripes go wild in the height of George Floyd rioting in 2020. He was unequivocal then that he wanted to “defund the police.” But he has also been clear now that those comments he made were “out of step” with his current views. In a news conference last month, he talked about the “critical role that the police” play in New York, and will continue to under his administration.
He has also largely shied away from leaning into identity politics. He’s a Muslim who, in August 2020, posted on Twitter about the “right-wing nationalism” he was fighting as a Muslim, among other messages. In May of this year, when he mentioned his Muslim identity, it was in the context of a light video making fun of himself. As Batya Ungar-Sargon commented on “After Party with Emily Jashinsky,” he could have made the race about how historic it would be if he was the first Muslim mayor of New York City. Instead, it was an afterthought.
Of course, if Mamdani wins in November he could enter office and lean into his socialist tendencies. He could revert back to his 2020 “defund the police” mottos. He could bankrupt the city with his sweeping economic plans. But he also could be like another politician who was severely underestimated, was a master at social media, and came from seemingly nowhere to become a dominant political force. No, Mamdani isn’t Donald Trump just yet, but there’s another relevant corollary there, too.
Trump came into his first term having promised to “build the wall and make Mexico pay for it.” He came into term two assuring the war in Ukraine would end within his first 24 hours. These ultimately were, as he once wrote in his mega-bestselling book “The Art of the Deal,” what’s known as “truthful hyperbole.” And Trump also has governed far more moderately and reasonably than what his detractors warned against. Sure, there are still a healthy contingent of liberal “Trump Derangement Syndrome” haters. But the claims of “destroying democracy” both in term one and two have been belied by the reality.
In that way, Trump is even more powerful and influential. He has swung big at 80/20 issues. He’s poking his finger in the eye of the establishment gatekeepers, without alienating MAGA or the moderate middle. He has remade the GOP, and as a result forced the Democratic Party to reckon with the changes on their side of the aisle.
Mamdani has that chance, too. If he truly makes life more affordable in New York City, if he can actually make the city feel safer, he will have a chance to remake the Democratic Party in his image, and with the socialist sensibilities he wants to pursue. That’s a scary prospect for those who are used to the status quo.
He’s helped by what he would be inheriting — it’s hard to get much worse. But if Mamdani can stay focused on incremental improvement, he has tremendous opportunity. Making that food truck meat two dollars less could mean the chance to change politics forever.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.
