The incoming mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani is good at making bold promises, and he does it with the warm smile and self-confidence of a cunning salesman. The man knows what people want.
He lost none of that confidence last night in his victory speech, promising a “new kind of politics,” “a city that we can afford” and “a government that will deliver exactly that.”
One would think that after making the sale and winning the election, Mamdani might have gone humble and planted the seed for a road back to reality. Instead, he doubled down on promising the moon.
He’s in for a rude awakening.
Mamdani’s promises are not the garden variety type that politicians routinely make and voters forget. Because he’s an avowed socialist, Mamdani has burdened himself with over-the-top promises that will haunt him for as long as he’s mayor.
Among other things, he has promised to freeze the rent for more than 2 million tenants, a $30 minimum wage, “free” buses, government-run grocery stores and “universal” day care.
These promises are so unrealistic it’s not clear they can even overcome the hard reality of civic politics and see the light of the day.
In any case, given that the city is already broke, how would Mamdani even pay for all those freebies? The socialist has an easy answer: Rich folks! Among his ideas to soak the wealthy, Mamdani has promised a $5 billion Corporate tax, this coming from someone who once said on Meet the Press, “I don’t think we should have billionaires.”
Mamdani will learn soon enough that insulting the rich will only chase them and their money away. In a capitalist society where financial success is a widespread and popular aspiration, the last thing you want to do is put down those who have succeeded. Eventually, they will turn on you, and without their money, you can’t do much.
As Margaret Thatcher once said, quoted today by Bret Stephens, “The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
In the Jewish community, most of the talk has been about how Mamdani’s anti-Israel sentiments will normalize antisemitism and make a precarious situation for Jewish New Yorkers even worse.
He knows the majority of Jews voted against him, so in his victory speech, Mamdani boldly promised to “build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism.”
Yes, but this is the same man who doesn’t believe in Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish state and whose first statement after the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7 included a call to dismantle Israeli “apartheid.”
This is the same man who once blamed Israel for police violence in New York, saying: “We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.”
Mamdani can make all the promises in the world, whether regarding Jews or his city, but he will be judged on outcomes, not promises.
Jews should feel empowered, not weakened, by the prospect of holding Mamdani accountable.
Already, a statement released today by a coalition of mainstream Jewish groups promised to “hold all elected officials, including Mayor-elect Mamdani, fully accountable for ensuring that New York remains a place where Jewish life and support for Israel are protected and can thrive.”
That’s a good start, but Jews should not limit themselves to only serving their own. New York has been one of the great Jewish cities of the world, a place that has defined the Jewish American experience. Jews have loved and thrived in New York City not just as Jews but as Americans.
Now that a leader with dubious and possibly destabilizing ideas has come on the scene, Jews must lead the way in holding him to account. They can start with a bold campaign called “Mamdani Promises,” which would widely disseminate his promises on billboards in Times Square, in The New York Times and on social media. That campaign will also highlight that what America needs most right now are not dream-like promises from the fringe but realistic policies from the center.
Of course, in a free country, Mamdani is free to make all the promises he wants, just as Jews are free to hold his feet to the fire. If he fails to deliver, New Yorkers will remember.
Welcome to America.
