Mamdani Is Not Mao

The Mamdani Moment: Racism, Responsibility, and the Future of NYC

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The hysteria surrounding Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral ambitions has taken a disturbing and frankly revealing turn. What should be a reasoned debate about policies, management capabilities, and vision for New York City has instead devolved into racially charged panic, coded fear-mongering, and outright xenophobia.

Let’s start with the basics. The Mayor of New York City oversees an annual budget of over $100 billion. That’s more than the entire GDP of many countries and more than the annual revenue of most corporations on the planet. This isn’t a ceremonial job. It’s the second most visible and consequential executive role in the country after the presidency. To be Mayor of New York is to be a head of state in all but name.

So yes, management matters. If Zohran Mamdani wants to run this city, then a basic test is whether he can operate something as tangible and practical as city-owned grocery stores. Because when you’re dealing with systems that touch millions—transit, sanitation, education, emergency response—competence is not optional, it is existential. Grocery stores may seem like a small thing, but they are a microcosm of the larger challenge: delivering quality, affordable services to all residents, especially the most vulnerable. If this is socialism, it is socialism with checkout lanes and price tags.

But the backlash isn’t about groceries. Let’s not pretend. It’s about who Mamdani is. A Muslim. An Indian-origin politician. A name that feels foreign to some, and threatening to others. And that’s the rot underneath this outrage. Not policy, but identity.

We’ve regressed. Just a few decades ago, a Senate Majority Leader lost his job over a single racially-tinged remark. Now, we’re awash in a climate where barely veiled racism is not only tolerated but mainstreamed. The idea that Mamdani can’t be trusted with public office because of who he is rather than what he proposes is not only offensive—it is profoundly un-American.

Disagree with his policies? Fine. Question the feasibility of city-run grocery stores? Fair game. Debate his critiques of global leaders like Netanyahu, Trump, or Modi? Absolutely. But weaponize his faith, his name, or his heritage? That’s not disagreement. That’s discrimination.

New York deserves a policy debate, not a culture war. The Mamdani moment reveals not just how far we have to go, but how much we’ve lost.

And it’s time we name that, confront it, and do better.

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