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The Print
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
New York, New Comrade. Mayor Mamdani and his India-style socialism
Mamdani's support for Gaza, strong anti-Trumpism (in the US President's own borough) and endorsement by the Democratic Left make him a personality important enough for Donald Trump to write a long post on. There's enormous oomph to a 33-year-old, super stylish and articulate Muslim of Indian origin who is now a front runner to govern the most powerful, rich, Jewish, and cosmopolitan city in the world. In India, it has played into the Hindu-Muslim binary. In the minds of the Hindu Right, it is the conquest of another great global city by a Muslim from the Subcontinent. Sadiq Khan of London being the other. Zohran Mamdani is going to be in the 'talk' not just in New York City or American politics, but also in India. Or, rather than saying that he will be in the headlines, we can use language more apt for the digital era and his demographic: he's going to be a most searched name for some time. He's paid him 'compliments' like 'a 100 percent Communist lunatic', one who 'looks terrible, his voice is grating' and so on. Of course, Trump also links his rise to his pet hate, the quartet of women politicians on the Democratic Left who he calls 'the Squad', led by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or AOC. The President's choice of words is, of course, Trumpian. In the Trump world, Communist or lunatic might be a common enough description for anybody he dislikes, used as casually as old Captain Haddock of Tintin comics dismissing somebody as a pestilential pachyderm or, simply, a vegetarian. To be abused by President Trump isn't a liability in New York. Also Read: Trump has brought the N-word back in fashion Do I have a problem, or even an opinion on Mamdani's rise? The answers are: problem, no; and opinion, it's great to see Indians rise in western democracies. We took pride in Rishi Sunak, on the Indian Right Kash Patel, Jay Bhattacharya and even Hindu American Tulsi Gabbard are celebrated as is the star cast of 'Indian' CEOs. Mamdani will be a stellar addition. I know what I am saying is triggering a lot of our readers. I am triggered too, but not for the reasons as some of you might be. His faith, his views, support for Gaza, dislike of Narendra Modi or Benjamin Netanyahu are the reasons many in India are unwilling to celebrate it as another 'Indian' conquest. For them, it is a conquest by the wrong guy (read the wrong faith). This polarisation has played out among the diaspora in New York as well. I am not so affected by this. If anything, I might have the boasting rights that the new mayor of the world's greatest city (if he wins) is someone who's mom I hosted twice on Walk The Talk, a story about which I will tell you in the postscript. So, what am I triggered by then? To understand this, let me take you through some highlights of his election promises. He will eliminate fares on buses (hello Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana and then keep adding) freeze the rent on two million already subsidised housing units (remember your Rent Control Act?) and to build more than two lakh homes over three years through Social Housing Development Agency (every Indian city has some such, DDA, MHADA, BDA, no?), provide universal child care for kids from six weeks to five years (anganwadis?) and, hold your breath, sarkari grocery stores with low prices. Remember our 'fair price shops', kendriya bhandars and cooperative supermarkets? All of these ideas are so familiar to two generations of Indians as the great failures of the socialist state. If you were also parked in the ration shop line by your mom as I was when just 10, to hold her spot until she finished cooking lunch and came to buy almost anything we needed, you will know what I mean. From sugar (200 grams per head per week in 1967) to wheat and even cloth by the metre. Everything for the working classes was to be found at state-run shops. Even if you did not have an experience like this, you've seen the state-built concrete working-class housing in our cities which are concrete slum clusters by another name. In New Delhi, I call them slums built by the Delhi Destruction (oops, Development) Authority and every city has has its own version. Our free bus services are now collapsing along with the state government finances. All of the ideas that failed so spectacularly in the country of his origin, Mamdani is now promising to replicate in a city millions of Indians have made their new home, mostly as economic refugees. Mamdani is too young to have picked these ideas from India and unlikely his parents experienced too much of this. However, this love of socialism in a country that gave the modern world its capitalist dream and in the city that represents that breathless success is an interesting point. What's even more interesting is the appeal this finds among New York's young. This is especially so in the big cities, nearly all run by Democrats. And Mamdani, if anything, stands way to the Left of 'the Squad'. Socialism, ironically, oozes significant sex appeal in a city that should be the brand ambassador of capitalist success. Also Read: One person's Deep State is another's Non-State actor. And Shallow State is where the real power lies Or is it the case that such success ultimately breeds socialism? That you've become so rich you can afford socialism? Europe swerved hard Left after the riches piled up, and has been course-correcting lately. Because socialism in rich societies also brings in immigration, racial and religious diversity and, truth be told, tribal internal conflicts from distant lands. Inevitably, it draws a reaction, and the Right returns. Even in Scandinavia, the home of the best socialism. India's problem is, the bad ideas never left us. Only good people, the best minds left. Millions of our brightest, most ambitious, entrepreneurial made America their home. What were they fleeing if not our fake socialism? Every Indian who risks their lives on a 'dunki' today is fleeing socialism which survives in the Modi era. Check out how much Modi government spends on distributive welfare and how BJP, supposedly a Right-wing party, has embraced the freebie culture of Indian socialists. In January 1990, while covering the unravelling of the Soviet Bloc I learnt some taxi driver's wisdom in Prague. Except that this taxi driver had a master's in engineering and was waiting for Václav Havel to fully liberate the economy. You Indians fought back for your political freedoms in the Emergency, he said, but how come you never fought for your economic freedoms? He had the answer: because you had never experienced economic freedom. You didn't even know what you were denied. This was a conversation at Prague's Wenceslas Square where a sparkling streamer hung from a building saying 'welcome back home Mr Bata'. He was driven out by Communism, the driver said, built a fortune in Canada, and now all you Indians wear his shoes. PostScript: Mira Nair and I set up our first WalkTheTalk interview one chilly January morning in 2005 in Delhi's Jama Masjid. We had just about started when the Shahi Imam arrived, furious. 'Ek dum rukiye aap' (stop at once), he said. He recognised me and softened. 'Aap ke liye izzat hai, aap jab marzi record keejiye. Inke liye nahin' (We respect you. You can record whenever you like. But not her). Why, I asked and explained to him what a brilliant and globally respected woman she was. He wasn't impressed and used adjectives that I'd rather not repeat. I wouldn't even commit the sin of imagining if maulana sahib had seen Nair's Kama Sutra or heard of it. But we retreated, recorded in the street outside and concluded the conversation over a breakfast of naan and nihari. Also Read: In defence of Murthy & Subrahmanyan: Success isn't 9-to-5, and no one's forcing you to work longer
India Today
4 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Trump says NYC could turn ‘communistic' if Mamdani wins mayoral race
US President Donald Trump on Friday called New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani 'a communist,' and said the Big Apple will become 'a communist city' if he is elected mayor in November.'I can't believe that's happening,' Trump told reporters at the White House. 'That's a terrible thing for our country, by the way.'President Trump on communist Zohran Mamdani: "Can't believe this is happening. Terrible for our country. He's a communist. So bad for New York." Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 27, 2025advertisementTrump's remarks came three days after Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, secured a stunning victory over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the first round of the city's Democratic mayoral primary. With 90 per cent of ballots counted, he secured 43.5 per cent of the vote, effectively clinching the win. A day after the primary results were announced, Trump launched a series of scathing online posts targeting Mamdani, calling him a '100% Communist Lunatic' and ridiculing his appearance and intellect. He also took aim at progressive leaders backing Mamdani, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Chuck Schumer.'It's finally happened—the Democrats have crossed the line,' Trump wrote. 'Zohran Mamdani, a 100 per cent Communist Lunatic, just won the Dem Primary and is on his way to becoming Mayor. We've had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous.'advertisementMocking Mamdani's voice and appearance, Trump added, 'He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he's not very smart,' and accused prominent Democrats of enabling him. 'He's got AOC+3—Dummies ALL—backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin' Chuck Schumer, is groveling over him. Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country!'Mamdani is known for his outspoken views on foreign policy, particularly his strong pro-Palestinian stance, which has drawn sharp criticism from pro-Israel groups. He has previously stated that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits New York City, he would seek his arrest, citing the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants issued in November 2024.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Fresh-faced internet star Deja Foxx is dubbed 'the next AOC' who wants to revolutionize the Dems
Social media activist Deja Foxx has been dubbed the 'next AOC' as she runs to fill a vacant Congressional seat in Arizona. The 25-year-old made her name as an abortion rights activist and built a legion of over 200,000 Instagram followers with her snazzy social media posts and advocacy work. She launched her campaign for Arizona's 7th District seat in April, which is vacant following the death of Democrat Congressman Raúl Grijalva from cancer in March aged 77. Her efforts have quickly been compared to that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known as AOC, when she ran on an ultra-liberal platform to unseat longtime New York Congressman Joe Crowley in 2019. AOC was four years older at the time than Foxx is now, and rode a wave of liberal outrage at President Trump during his first term to become a prominent member of 'The Squad' in Washington DC. She is running on a similar platform to the one that got AOC elected, and has made abortion rights and criticizing the 2022 overturning of Roe v Wade - which codified the right to an abortion federally - central pillars of her campaign. Foxx also named AOC and firebrand Democrat Jasmine Crockett as her inspirations in Congress, saying they 'best represent the values of the party.' However, she remains a longshot to win the Democrat primary when voters head to the polls in July. Foxx gained just five percent support in a Public Policy Polling survey compared to 49 percent for Adelita Grijalva, the daughter of the deceased congressman they are running to replace. Despite trailing heavily in the race, Foxx has said she is undaunted by the polling numbers, and hopes to replicate AOC when she overcame huge odds to defeat Crowley six years ago. She has noted that her support is made up of small donors and her average contribution is around $29, saying she is rejecting big super PAC money like AOC before her. Although she is only 25, Foxx has made her youth a key selling point, telling Newsweek that 'if everybody who told me I was too young went and told somebody that they were too old, we would be in a vastly different, political structure right now.' 'Age is a defining factor in our political system, like it or not, it just is,' she said, and pointed out that the seat she is running for 'opened up because somebody passed away while in office.' The advanced age of many lawmakers in Washington DC has been growing as an issue in recent times, with Grijalva becoming the third Democrat in Congress to die in office this year. Since 2022, eight members of Congress have passed away. Foxx first rose to prominence as an abortion rights activist in 2017 when she was just 16 years old, as footage of her confronting then-Arizona Senator Jeff Flake at a town hall went viral. She berated Flake over cuts to Planned Parenthood, and catapulted her viral fame into becoming a social media influencer, often sharing similar clips of her confronting Republicans online. Recalling her start in politics, she told Newsweek: 'I was a teenager living with my boyfriend, working at a gas station. We relied on Title X funding', referring to the federal program that supports services like Planned Parenthood. She said she often used 'Planned Parenthood centers to get the birth control that I needed to take control of my body and my future when I had no money, no parents and no insurance. 'And this is just one of those ways that policymakers often disconnected from their constituents, vote without ever thinking about the consequences for real people.' She says on her campaign website she experienced homelessness during a turbulent adolescence, but rose to become the first in her family to attend college, earning a full ride to Columbia University in New York to study political science. While at Columbia, Foxx joined Kamala Harris' first run for the presidency in 2020 and went on to lead her 2020 campaign influencer strategy. 'What it taught me is a lesson that I took in to 2024 and that I'm taking into my own special election here in 2025 as I stick my head up to lead and to run — which was what it means to be fearless,' she said. After Harris lost the 2024 election in a landslide, Foxx said she decided to run for Congress because she 'felt a deep sense of responsibility.' 'It wasn't enough for me to just work the behind the scenes of campaigns or in front of the cameras," she said, adding 'I needed to give them someone they could get excited about, or we would stand to lose our generation.'
Washington Post
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
The generational shift coming for Democrats
The generational shift coming for Democrats Democratic socialism has notched another victory. Zohran Mamdani's win over the establishment is just the latest in a line of self-proclaimed socialist candidates who've been invading the Democratic Party for the past decade. See: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But are people actually drawn to the policies and ideology of socialism, or is it about something else? Molly Roberts, Drew Goins and Philip Bump discuss what Mamdani's victory tells us about the power of young voters.
The Hill
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Jennings: Ocasio-Cortez, Crockett ‘unquestioned spokespeople or leaders' of Democratic Party
Conservative political commentator Scott Jennings said Thursday that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) are now the unofficial faces of the Democratic Party. 'I mean, if you just turn on your television, turn on any media, what Democrats are you likely to see? AOC and Crockett,' Jennings said during an interview on the Tudor Dixon Podcast. 'They are the unquestioned spokespeople or leaders of the Democratic Party, and they're radical and they're out of the mainstream,' he added. Both Democratic lawmakers were heavily involved in Vice President Harris's failed 2024 presidential bid but Jennings said they didn't learn much. 'I don't really think they've learned anything from the 2024 election. The American people rejected this radicalism,' Jennings said. 'They rejected this kind of left-wing cultural and political lurch. And now they appear to be doubling down on it,' he added. The frequent CNN guest said mainstream Democrats including Rep. Debbie Dingell (Mich.) have been 'shoved aside' by this new wave of leadership. Ocasio-Cortez in May passed on a bid for the top Democratic seat on the House Oversight Committee. 'It was clear by the numbers that my style of leadership is not exactly what they were looking for and so I didn't think that it was fair for me to then push forward,' Crockett reportedly told journalists earlier this month regarding her dropped bid for the position. 'What I care about is winning. Now, whether or not we're going to win and how big we're going to win, that's a whole other issue.'
