We are all familiar with the cliche “be careful what you wish for.” Of course, cliches become cliches because, more often than not, they are proven true or serve as indicators of regularly repeating patterns.
Of late, there is growing speculation that President Trump and the Republican Party would “love it” if far-left, socialist, anti-Zionist Zohran Mamdani were elected mayor of New York City in November. This is true for some Republicans, for sure. For Trump, I doubt it.
In an article this week on this site titled “Trump tied in knots by Mamdani questions in New York,” the question arose: How best for Trump and the GOP to handle Mamdani should he win? The consensus seems to be that if Mamdani wins, Trump would then want to pound him nonstop over the next year as an “out-of-touch socialist” who personifies the failing policies Democrats seek to inflict upon the nation.
Ultimately, I don’t see Trump taking that route. It would add oxygen to a growing far-left populist narrative that not only pushes “free is for me” but that the wealthy are to blame for the plight of the poor and disenfranchised and therefore must be taxed at the highest rate possible as punishment for their “sins against the people.”
Political history shows us time and again that “free is for me” and “the wealthy are responsible for what ails you” has always worked to some degree with certain constituencies. Not only does Trump know that, but he understands that the far-left populist Mamdani is getting better with his messaging and will be aided if the president and the GOP make him the face of the left. It is much better, then, to attack his failed policies rather than elevate him to mythical status.
To this point, while I have long been a fan of former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, I take issue with something she recently said on Fox News. Speculating about the possible election of Mamdani, McEnany said, “For the sake of New York City, you absolutely do not want this to happen. But for the Republican Party, what a foil this would be.”
Again, for me, this comes down to “be careful what you wish for.” If one were writing a strategy paper for Republicans, an obvious tactic would be to vilify Mamdani while making him the face of the Democratic Party going forward. But such a strategy would overlook or underestimate two critically important realities.
The first is that much of the mainstream media is still in the tank for the Democrats. That acknowledged, current events this week demonstrated why one party controlling most of the national narrative is never a good idea. The latest example is the disgusting and ghoulish comments by some in the liberal media associated with the assassination of Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk. Next is the “nothing to see here” way the media has largely ignored the shocking videotaped murder of a young female Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte, N.C.
The left never pays the full price for its errors because it has a vise-like grip on most major media. As I write this, the narrative from the left’s noise machine is once again turning back against Trump and the Republican Party.
None of this should come as a surprise to anyone who follows power and politics. As I have stressed in the past, over the last five decades, the left has taken majority control over what I call the “five megaphones of our nation” — the media, academia, entertainment, science and medicine.
Republicans need to understand that come 2026 and 2028, that will still be the case. If they don’t get it, I can assure them that Mamdani, his team and the Democrats do and have that reality baked into every strategy.
The next potentially growing attraction of the “Mamdani effect” is that historically many poor, working-class or disenfranchised people will vote for the candidate promising a “chicken in every pot” while simultaneously ignoring his or her failed policies in order to blame the “wealthy.” Making Mamdani the foil and the face of the Democrats risks awakening millions of struggling Americans to the “free is for me” grift.
At the moment, a number of powerful voices in the Democratic Party are still tiptoeing around Mamdani and his socialist message. However, if he not only wins in a big way in November, but there is evidence that his socialist policies would travel quite well out of New York City, those leaders — purely for self-serving reasons — would begin to embrace Mamdani and his movement.
The Republican Party may be “thrilled” to have Mamdani as a foil. But don’t forget, “Be careful what you wish for” became a cliche for a reason.
Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official.
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