The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1729 – It's Only Been A Month, But Zohran Mamdani Is Already A Disaster
Date: February 4, 2026
Host: Matt Walsh (The Daily Wire)

Overview

In this episode, Matt Walsh delivers a searing critique of newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's first month in office, arguing that Mamdani's progressive agenda has already plunged the city into crisis. Walsh also weighs in on the controversy surrounding singer Shaboozey's Grammy speech about immigrants, analyzes a viral TikTok about ICE, and offers heartfelt advice to young men in light of a fresh conservative influencer scandal. The episode maintains Walsh’s combative, sarcastic tone and is laced with caustic humor and direct challenges to progressive narratives.

Main Discussion Sections

1. Zohran Mamdani’s Rocky First Month as NYC Mayor

Setting the Scene (00:49)

• Walsh highlights that Mamdani, a “Muslim socialist from Uganda,” was supposed to be a revolutionary leader, but within a month, NYC is already “falling apart.”
• Quote:

  “The whole point was that he'd be a revolutionary. He'd take quick, decisive action to replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” (01:10, Matt Walsh)

Unmet Campaign Promises & Early Controversies

• Mamdani’s campaign promised dramatic reforms, especially free bus fares and major changes to NYPD oversight, but none have materialized.
• Instead, public anger mounts:
  • His mother’s name appears in Epstein files (“they’re not happy with his mother’s appearance in the Epstein file”—01:29).
  • Protesters gather outside Mamdani’s home, expressing betrayal over failed promises (02:04-02:22).

Failures in City Management

• Buses aren’t free; fares have increased by 10 cents, and the Trump administration threatens federal funding cuts (03:38).
• Public services are deteriorating:
  • Trash piles up post-snowstorm; the city is derided as “the city that never sweeps” (06:11).
  • Residents complain:

    “It’s the most vile thing. I think it’s the worst in New York history.” (06:30, quoting Josh Tepper) “It’s very dirty. It’s a little embarrassing.” (06:44, Upper East Side resident)

• Instead of addressing these issues, Mamdani’s “big idea” is opening the Dinkins Municipal Building rooftop for public sightseeing (07:11–08:13).

Criticism of Symbolism Over Substance

• Walsh ridicules Mamdani’s influencer-like performance and “word salad” announcements, arguing he’s more interested in “shooting influencer videos” than governing (08:13–08:30).
• Dinkins Building symbolism:
  • Matt links it to David Dinkins’ tenure, which saw a huge rise in New York murders:

    “That’s how extraordinarily, uniquely incompetent he was.” (09:28, Matt Walsh)

2. Linking Policy Changes to Real-World Harm

The Homeless Encampment Policy (10:50–18:13)

• Mamdani bans NYPD from dismantling homeless encampments, a reversal from Eric Adams’ policy.
• Eric Adams warns this will create a “quality of life nightmare” (11:16–12:23).
• Walsh argues old-school Democrats had common sense; current progressives do not.
• “Sixteen of our fellow New Yorkers have passed away outside during this brutal stretch of cold.” (17:18, Mamdani press conference)
• Walsh blames Mamdani directly:

  “Mamdani is responsible for every single one of these deaths. That is not hyperbole, and he doesn’t care.” (18:31, Matt Walsh)

NGOs and Political Incentives

• Walsh claims Mamdani and the left intentionally avoid solving problems to maintain funding flows to nonprofits (19:02–19:34).

Policing and Public Safety (19:41–25:26)

• An emotionally disturbed man, Jabez Chakraborty, is shot by police after charging them with a knife. Mamdani responds by suggesting police shouldn’t be sent to such calls—mental health professionals should be.
• Walsh insists this is absurd, arguing for the necessity of law enforcement in dangerous situations, and lampoons Mamdani's evasive answer at a press conference (24:00–25:01).

  “If you send a community safety advocate and the person pulls a knife and charges at them, what then?...Well, I guess that person just dies, then. I don’t give a [expletive].” (25:23, Matt Walsh)

3. Culture War Flashpoints

The Shaboozey Grammy Speech Controversy (30:50–36:00)

• Shaboozey, a Grammy-winning artist, says in his acceptance speech, “Immigrants built this country.” Leftist backlash ensues for failing to mention Black Americans.

  “Immigrants built this country. Literally. So this is for them, for all children of immigrants.” (31:38, Shaboozey’s speech)

• Shaboozey issues a clarifying statement:

  “To be clear, I know and believe that we black people have also built this country. My words were never intended to dismiss that truth...” (34:28, Statement)

• Walsh mocks the controversy, arguing the left’s version of American history erases the contributions of whites and distorts facts:

  “The only people who didn’t build America are the people who built America.” (36:48, Matt Walsh)

• He challenges listeners to name 26 non-white people among the 50 most influential Americans (39:09–41:24).

Disdain for Progressive Ignorance: Viral TikTok About ICE (43:33–50:50)

• Walsh ridicules a viral post in which a heavily-pierced woman contemplates a murder-suicide if ICE comes to her door, displaying ignorance about what ICE actually does.

  “These people don’t know anything. This is what you have to—they actually don’t know what ICE is or what it even does.” (46:25, Matt Walsh)

• He suggests people this ignorant or visibly unstable should not be allowed to vote:

  “Anybody with that many facial piercings should be assumed incompetent and should lose the right to vote or to participate in society in any other capacity. And I am so deadly serious when I say that.” (50:16, Matt Walsh)

• Walsh further riffs on the analogy of trusting such a person as an airline pilot (51:19).

4. Advice for Young Men: Learning from Conservative Influencer Scandals (54:05–68:10)

Context: A New Scandal

• A conservative influencer, Elijah Schaefer, is embroiled in a divorce and alleged affair scandal; Walsh uses this as a backdrop to his message.

Finding Happiness as a Man (58:40–68:10)

• Walsh lays out his formula for a man’s fulfillment:

  1. Faith or sense of ultimate purpose
  2. Family (wife and children)
  3. Professional vocation that matters to him

• Quote:

  “If you have a faith, you have a family, if you have a job you care about, you have a vocation—well, now grow. Grow in faith, grow in your love and devotion to your family, grow in your career. And that’s all you need for a happy life. And then don't [mess] it up.” (60:13, Matt Walsh)

• Strong caution against seeking excitement outside one’s family and career:

  “Never take any risks in your personal life... that thing you have, your loving family, that is the one thing that you never put on the line.” (68:10, Matt Walsh)

Differentiating Excitement in Life

• Pursue “mountains to climb” professionally or through meaningful goals, not through drama in one’s personal life (62:39–66:36).
• Stable, loving, predictable home life is the ideal reward for a man.

Memorable Moment

• Matt on Professional vs. Personal Excitement:

  “You want a personal life that is peaceful and quiet and stable and reliable. And you know what you’re going to get with people you know and people you trust.” (65:09, Matt Walsh)

Closing Sermon

• Find, build, and fiercely protect faith, family, and vocation—once achieved, “guard it with your life.” (67:54–69:23)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Mamdani’s early failures:

  “They elected a theater kid... who promised to burn everything down and completely transform New York City. A month later, they realize he’s a fraudster who has no idea what he’s doing.” (03:13, Matt Walsh)

• On the left’s agenda:

  “Solving any problem cuts off funding to Democrat activists. So he doesn’t want to solve any problem. He wants them all to get worse.” (19:02, Matt Walsh)

• On the Grammy controversy:

  “In their fantasy land, this country was built by two groups: Black people and non-white immigrants... The only people who did not build America are white people of European ancestry.” (36:11 & 36:48, Matt Walsh)

• On viral TikTok outrage:

  “If you show up to the voting booth looking like that, you should not be allowed to vote and you should be stripped of... you should be disenfranchised. Like you are not a stable person.” (50:36, Matt Walsh)

• Advice to men:

  “Your personal life should be one of peace and contentment and quiet... You want a personal life that is peaceful and quiet and stable and reliable.” (65:07–65:09, Matt Walsh)

Key Takeaways

• Walsh remains unwaveringly critical of progressive leadership (esp. Mamdani), linking leftist policies directly to misery, chaos, and even death.
• He positions himself as a defender of “basic reality,” often challenging listeners and adversaries to confront uncomfortable truths, historical or otherwise.
• The episode closes with a personal appeal to men to focus on faith, family, and worthwhile work, portraying contentment at home as the ultimate bulwark against society’s dysfunction and temptation.

Timeline of Major Segments

• 00:49–11:00: Mamdani as NYC Mayor – Early failures, scandals, broken promises
• 11:01–19:34: Homeless policy disaster, policy analysis, tragedy of frozen homeless deaths
• 19:35–26:22: Policing, safety, insanity of “community safety” over police, logical holes
• 30:50–41:24: Shaboozey Grammy controversy, discussion of race and historical revisionism
• 43:33–51:59: Viral anti-ICE TikTok, discussion of ignorance and its consequences
• 54:05–69:44: Conservative influencer scandal, Matt’s advice for young men, sermon on the importance of ordered personal life

Final Notes

Matt Walsh’s branded blend of sardonic humor, social criticism, and direct confrontation of progressive ideas is on full display. This episode functions as both a political commentary and a polemical sermon aimed at young men. Walsh’s messaging is clear: progressive experiments in “real-world” governance fail with existential consequences, and personal virtue, rooted in faith and family, is the antidote to both societal and personal collapse.