EVIDENCE THAT MAMDANI IS A COMMUNIST

Video exposes Mamdani as more radical than thought

It is indisputable that many of the policies and beliefs he espouses are alarmingly tied to antisemitic ideologies. 

 

By Jeffrey Lax 

 

JNS

Jul 8, 2025 

A 2021 video of a virtual Youth Democratic Socialists of America meeting featuring Zohran Mamdani has recently resurfaced, revealing that despite his previous denials, the New York City mayoral nominee does, in fact, hold views that align with a universally accepted definition of communism.

In the video, an interminably smiling Mamdani—oddly dressed in a tight, green spider web-like sweater—spoke to what appeared to be college students submitting questions to him about how to succeed as a true socialist in the DSA. He repeatedly distanced himself from even mainstream DSA Socialists, strongly implying that they were not real ones and insisting that the true way to DSA’s success would come from embracing not progressives but the idea of socialism itself.

At one point, Mamdani went so far as to state that “seizing the means of production” was the “end goal,” evoking Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, both of whom famously spoke of socialism being merely a transitional phase to be used in achieving the true end goal of communism. In Marx’s Critique of the Gotha Programme (1875), he explicitly described socialism as a transitional stage (the “lower phase”) of communism, when the state controls the means of production, eventually leading to a Communist society (the “higher phase”).

Mamdani casually refers to his fellow Socialists as “comrades” and boasts of numerous antisemitic affiliations and promises. He admits to his affiliation with the militant and virulent anti-Zionist hate group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The often violent or harassing group has repeatedly been banned or suspended from at least a dozen college campuses in the United States. What he doesn’t reveal in the damning video is the fact that he was not merely a supporter of SJP but a co-founder of the Students for Justice in Palestine’s chapter at Bowdoin College in Maine.

Just as concerning for the Jewish people of New York, Mamdani promises in the clip not just that he will work to revoke the city’s anti-BDS executive order, but actively campaign to push active boycott policies into place. He brags about his work in pushing the BDS movement, which is widely viewed as antisemitic.

The video, in which Mamdani explicitly claims that “capitalism” is the problem in the United States, undermines claims made by Mamdani in a “Meet the Press” interview on June 29, where he denied being a Communist and stated that he identifies as a Democratic Socialist.

The video exposes Mamdani as more radical than many worried New York voters had already thought. In it, he calls his own policies “radical” but insists that they must be pushed and that adherence to a purely Socialist ideology must rise above the temptation for DSA candidates to remain in power. Rather, he expressed confidence that, in time, these ideals will prevail and be embraced by the general public.

I would encourage readers to watch the entire 44-minute video. Even for those who would stop short of calling Mamdani a Communist or an antisemite, it is simply indisputable that many of the policies and beliefs he espoused, and many of the actions he has said that he would take in the video, are alarmingly tied to Communist and antisemitic ideologies.

In a June 23 editorial, the Chicago Tribune cautioned New York voters not to elect Mamdani, explaining that Mamdani was “inarguably … more radical” than Democratic Socialist Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has caused tremendous damage to that city and a high level of  “dysfunction, driven by fiscal missteps and political inexperience.”

Indeed, Johnson carries a historically low approval rating of 14%. The Tribune argued that Mamdani would be even worse, warning that “far-left candidates do not make for effective or popular municipal executives in today’s stressful economy.”

Ultimately, New York City voters will decide their fate in the general election come November. Op-eds, editorials, TV commercials and political platitudes probably won’t sway many. They will vote on their values, as voters generally do.

My hope, though, is that shining a bright light on Mamdani’s own words, core values and beliefs will save the city from his hands. His values simply don’t represent those of the average New Yorker.