Zohran Mamdani wasted little time declaring his intent to turn Times Square into Red Square and fueling the fears he’s antisemitic.
Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City shortly after the Big Apple rang in the new year, taking the oath of office with his hand atop not one but three Qurans. And while he is the first Muslim to become mayor of New York, Mamdani quickly presented his communist manifesto. Or in his case, communist bumper sticker.
“We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism,” he stated in his inaugural address.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quickly noted on X just what warm collectivism brought in the 20th century. “The ‘warmth’ of collectivism that always requires coercion and force. How many dead over the past 100 years due to collectivist ideologies?”
The answer? Approximately 94-100 million, according the “The Black Book of Communism.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also saw the threat in Mamdani’s words, responded on X, “When communists rule, individual rights—invariably—are taken away.”
To those voters who hoped Mamdani would moderate his radicalism once in office or bought the idea that he had softened his antisemitism, no such luck. In his public swearing-in Thursday, Mamdani declared “I was elected as a Democratic Socialist and I will govern as a Democratic Socialist.”
The Daily Signal’s Jarrett Stepman has already listed a number of the radicals Mamdani has hired in top posts. On Tuesday, Mamdani added to their number, naming as New York City’s chief counsel Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer who represented an al-Qaeda terrorist and rabid anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil.
One of Mamdani’s first official acts as mayor was to cancel every executive order of his predecessor Eric Adams, a Democrat, including an order that adopted the definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). That definition included “demonizing Israel and holding it to double standards” and, as Fox News reported, denying the Jewish people’s right to have a national homeland. He also cancelled an order that blocked city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel.
Mamdani’s office insists the mayor will restore executive orders he agrees with. On the other hand, this is the man who refused to condemn the phrase “From the river to the sea” or “Globalize the intifada.”
As Fox News reported, Mamdani has also resorted to word games when asked specifically if he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. “I’m not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else,” Mamdani said. “I think that in the way that we have in this country, equality should be enshrined in every country of the world.”
Israel blasted the cancellation of the executive orders. “On his very first day as New York City mayor, Mamdani shows his true face: He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry wrote on X. “This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
Meanwhile, the New York Post reports that Mamdani’s promises of a socialist utopia weren’t even met by his own inaugural bash. Around 10,000 supporters showed up for what had been billed as an “Inauguration for a New Era Block Party.” The crowd was “crammed into several barricaded pens without access to bathrooms or any food concession stands.”
“It’s definitely not a block party,” one supporter complained.
The Mamdani Era is underway.
