Victor Davis Hanson: There’s No Going Back If NYC Elects Zohran Mamdani

Oct 23, 2025

Victor Davis Hanson dives into the shocking rise of Zohran Mamdani, a candidate pushing radical socialist ideas in New York City. He explains how demographic shifts have paved the way for Mamdani's potential victory and the terrifying implications it could have for the city's future. Additionally, Hanson discusses the challenges in rallying opposition to this movement, emphasizing the need for a unique coalition that is unlikely to form. He concludes with a stark warning about the dangers Mamdani poses to the city’s financial stability.

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INSIGHT

Socialist Threat And Electoral Opportunity

Victor Davis Hanson argues Zohran Mamdani represents an unapologetic socialist threat to NYC's traditional institutions.
Hanson links Mamdani's appeal to demographic shifts and low-turnout municipal elections.

INSIGHT

Platform Echoes Communist Rhetoric

Hanson highlights Mamdani's platform as closer to communism than mainstream democratic socialism, citing calls to seize means of production and target elite institutions.
He warns these policies would upend meritocratic schools, tax affluent areas heavily, and reshape the city's economic base.

INSIGHT

Demographics Reshape City Politics

Hanson attributes Mamdani's chance to large demographic changes including the departure of many Jewish middle-class voters and new immigration.
He says the city has become 'radically democratic,' increasing the power of hard-left, low-turnout constituencies.

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For the first time in the modern era, New York City may soon elect an unapologetic socialist as its mayor: Zohran Mamdani

The Democrat candidate has expressed ideas that go far beyond traditional liberal politics, echoing principles more commonly associated with communist ideology. Victor Davis Hanson breaks down how New York’s shifting demographics and political culture have created the ideal conditions for Mamdani’s rise—and also how his mayoral reign could permanently alter the city’s future—on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

“ Can he be stopped? The only way that he could be stopped, if the right part of the Left and the Center and the Right were to combine and say: ‘We don't like each other. We have very little in common. But this man represents the destruction of our way of life. He's anti-Israel. He is antisemitic. He is pro-Hamas. He is anti-capitalist. He's anti-free enterprise. He's socialistic. And he's gonna bankrupt the state and drive out our entire source of wealth that is the financial class itself.’”
00:00 Introduction to Zohran Mamdani's Mayoral Candidacy

02:02 Mamdani's Socialist Agenda

03:05 Demographic Shifts in New York City

05:16 Potential Opposition Candidates

07:46 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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