Podcast Summary: "Mamdani's Rise and Its Consequences"

Call Me Back – with Dan Senor
Guest: Reihan Salam, President of the Manhattan Institute
Date: November 3, 2025

Overview

This episode delves deeply into the meteoric rise of Zoran Mamdani, an anti-Zionist Democratic Socialist, as the front-runner for New York City mayor. Host Dan Senor and guest Reihan Salam analyze the political, social, and demographic shifts that enabled Mamdani's ascent, what his possible mayoralty could mean for New York, and the ramifications for national politics—especially regarding American Jewish communities and Israel policy.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Mamdani’s Political Meteor: How It Happened

• Unforeseen Opportunity: Mamdani started as a marginal figure but seized an opening when mainstream contenders withdrew or faltered (e.g., Eric Adams, Tish James, Andrew Cuomo).
  • Salam: “Zoran Mamdani, he had a very clear lane because all of these other more mainstream progressives were not in the mix. And Andrew Cuomo was there to ensure… that there’s not going to be oxygen there for another credible moderate candidate.” [05:46]
• Electorate Demographics Shifting: NYC’s Democratic voter base is not just less "white" but comprised of newer, college-educated, often transient white populations with different sensibilities than past generations.
  • Salam: “Now there’s this really big component of college educated transplants who move to New York City from somewhere else. That’s a really, really big, key constituency.” [07:41]
• Activist Core: The DSA: The Democratic Socialists of America, though small (~11,000 in NYC), provided organizational muscle, positioning Mamdani as not just a Democrat but the face of a distinct movement.
  • Salam: “It’s kind of like a synagogue or a church. They meet every two weeks…they form the kernel of an army of volunteers that supercharged the Mamdani campaign.” [09:47]

2. DSA’s Transformation and Anti-Israel Messaging

• From Zionist Roots to Anti-Israel Vanguard: The DSA, once pro-Zionist, became a home for young socialists radicalized after the 2008 financial crisis and gravitated to Third Worldist, “anti-imperialist” causes—including anti-Zionism.
  • Salam: “Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was the first DSA superstar. And this became an organization that has a very different profile… motivated by anti Israel, anti Zionist sentiment.” [10:12]
• Mamdani’s Longstanding Focus on Israel: Long before October 7, 2023, Mamdani made Israel central to his rhetoric, binding various local grievances to Israel and its policies.
  • Senor: “He was talking about tying everything in New York City politics…all the grievances that the left has…tying it all back to Israel.” [12:06]
• Post-Oct. 7 “Kerosene” Effect: The Gaza war became a galvanizing force, turbocharging Mamdani’s campaign and shifting mainstream Democratic sentiment further from traditional support of Israel.
  • Salam: “There is no question that the war in Gaza was absolutely something that’s been totally galvanizing for the left of the Democratic Party and for Zoran Mamdani’s campaign.” [12:41]
• Dual Messaging – Affordability vs. Israel: While anti-Israel rhetoric rouses the activist base, the public-facing campaign leans on affordability (free rent, childcare, buses) to reach the broader middle class, especially college-educated young professionals squeezed by economic realities.
  • Salam: “His very simple slogans, free is the rent, childcare for all, fast, free buses…The two things, both the anti Israel messaging… and also the affordability messaging, that’s his offer to the mainstream.” [14:05]

3. The Appeal and Irony of Mamdani’s Politics

• Contrast With Past Left Politics: Previous “woke” movements asked for contrition and self-critique from white progressives; Mamdani’s strain shifts focus away from personal guilt to blaming Israel (and the NYPD, by alleged extension).
  • Salam: "Anti-Israel messaging is different. It's saying that if you're a college educated white guy, you don't have to apologize for yourself. You don't have to say sorry for anything. It's Israel. They're the bad guys." [00:09, repeated at 15:20]
• Populist Yet Comfortable: Mamdani’s proposals promise direct benefits to the aspirational middle and upper-middle classes, not just the working poor, fostering a populist coalition without serious sacrifice by supporters.
  • Salam: "I'm going to give you free childcare for your six week old. I'm going to give you a free apartment…It’s going to be a Viennese style social housing apartment for the upper middle class. For you." [15:20]

4. National and Long-Term Implications

• Prototype for a National Trend: The DSA-driven movement is not limited to NYC; similar candidates and themes are emerging in other cities and will likely shape Democratic Party debates for years.
  • Salam: "City after city, you’ve got DSA candidates… who are rhyming with the DSA message, even if they’re not fully paid up members because they see that discontent." [18:08]
• Republicans’ Response: Mamdani serves as a "foil" for conservatives—proof of the alleged dangers of left-progressive governance and anti-Israel sentiment for campaign fodder.
  • Senor (citing an unnamed pollster): "If a guy like that is the voice of the anti Israel sentiment, then it’s hard for anyone on the right to want to sound like that." [27:35]
• The Anti-Semitism Fault Lines: While anti-Israel sentiment is ascendant on the left, fissures are also emerging on the right, with worrying signs of antisemitism gaining traction among younger generations and online communities.
  • Salam: “There’s a huge difference when it comes to Americans over 50 and under 50. When you’re looking at under 25s, you are seeing rank, explicit antisemitism on the rise… both on folks who identify on the right and left.” [30:25]
• The Limits of Establishment Pushback: Unlike the Democratic establishment’s relatively weak response to its own radicals, Salam notes that pushback on the right may temporarily contain the spread, but generational/structural shifts pose long-term risks.
  • Salam: “When you’re fighting a very conspiratorial movement, looking like the elite establishment is marching in lockstep, that’s not necessarily going to get you the answer you want.” [34:18]

5. What Would a Mamdani Mayoralty Look Like?

• Operational Challenges: Unlike past left-wing NYC leaders, Mamdani and his team lack deep experience; his most ambitious promises would require navigating unprecedented operational, economic, and public safety complexities as the city faces post-COVID population, employment, and budget challenges.
  • Salam: “Bill de Blasio knew how the city worked and…brought in Bill Bratton as his police commissioner. The thing about Mandani and his circle, these are people who are a lot less experienced and a lot more ideological.” [21:52]
• NYC’s Fragility Warning: The city is more economically vulnerable than at any time in decades, losing families and middle-class Black residents, and facing increased competition from other cities (e.g., Dallas, Austin, San Francisco’s rebound).
  • Salam: "We have a lot of fundamental advantages. But… the city's economy is much more fragile. We need someone who's a lot better than Eric Adams…to convince people the city is open for business..." [24:11]
• Danger of Ideological Experiments: Implementing untested, ideologically motivated policy changes at this moment could be disastrous.
  • Salam: “What you don’t want is someone to come in now at a moment when the city is so incredibly fragile to run a series of ideological experiments.” [24:11]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Shift in Left Politics:
  Salam: “The Mamdani agenda is the easiest agenda in the world. You're not apologizing for yourself, you're saying that actually, it's Israel that's to blame. You know, they're the bad guys.” [15:20]

• On NYC’s Changing Demographics & Politics:
  Salam: “Now there’s this really big component of college educated transplants who move to New York City from somewhere else. That’s a really, really big, key constituency.” [07:41]

• On the Risk for Jewish Communities:
  Senor: "The Jewish community is always the scapegoat when these debates get ripped open, however unfairly." [37:04]

• On Confronting Rising Antisemitism Online:
  Salam: "The old methods of fighting this—‘we’re going to relegate you to the fringe, we’re going to pretend you don’t exist’—we’re in this moment now where people are feeling trapped because actually these voices are so loud they’re amplified to such an extent that it feels foolish to ignore it." [32:30]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:09] – The contrast between past “woke” politics and Mamdani’s anti-Israel messaging
• [05:16–07:41] – Salam on why Mamdani surged from obscurity to front-runner
• [09:47–10:12] – The DSA as the organizational driver behind Mamdani
• [12:06–12:41] – Mamdani’s history of anti-Israel focus; impact of the Gaza war
• [14:05–15:20] – The dual messaging around anti-Israel rhetoric and affordability
• [18:08–19:40] – Why Mamdani is a prototype for national progressive candidates
• [21:52–24:11] – The high-stakes challenges facing NYC and risks of ideological governance
• [27:35–30:25] – Salam and Senor on how Mamdani’s candidacy affects Republican politics and antisemitism
• [30:25–34:18] – Rising antisemitism among younger generations on both left and right
• [37:04–end] – Reflection on party leadership responses and broader implications for American society

Tone & Style

The conversation is both analytical and urgent, mixing policy wonkish detail with an explicit sense of alarm about the consequences of current trends for New York, US politics, and Jewish communities.

Final Thoughts

Senor and Salam conclude that the Mamdani phenomenon represents an inflection point—showcasing how both economic anxiety and identitarian politics are being harnessed by a new left, and warning that failure to address these root causes (especially the affordability crisis) could stoke wider, more pernicious forms of resentment on both political extremes.

For further reading, the episode references Reihan Salam’s pieces in The Free Press and Wall Street Journal (linked in show notes).