The ascension of Zohran Mamdani, a self-professed Democratic Socialist, to the mayor’s office in New York City represents a chilling case study in the real-world consequences of radical leftist governance. His flagship proposal for a so-called ‘free’ bus system, estimated to cost $700 million annually, is already unraveling under the slightest scrutiny, exposing the utter intellectual bankruptcy of the socialist agenda that the liberal media so often romanticizes.
When pressed by a reporter on the fundamental question of how this massive expenditure will be funded, Mamdani’s response was not one of a serious executive, but of a ideologue completely detached from fiscal reality. His inability to provide a coherent answer reveals that this is not a planned policy, but a hollow campaign promise designed to buy votes with money that simply does not exist.
The transcript of the exchange reveals the staggering depth of his negligence:
MANNARINO: And the other one — talking about fast and free buses, and your meeting with the governor. I’ve heard you say many times that you don’t want to take money away from the MTA — you want to put money back in. And it’s something she agrees with, right? “We don’t want to take away money from the MTA.” How are you getting that $700 million to make the buses free into the MTA if she’s not for raising taxes?
MAMDANI: You know, I think the two clearest ways to raise that money is through raising the state’s corporate tax to match New Jersey. A lot of this is still a case to be made — whether it’s the corporate tax or the personal income tax on those who make more than a million dollars a year. I think these are the clearest ways.
Even his “clearest ways” are nothing more than speculative, politically toxic tax hikes that would drive businesses and high-earners out of a city already bleeding from population loss. This is the classic socialist playbook: punish success and productivity until there is nothing left to tax.
Most alarmingly, Mamdani then articulated a governing philosophy that should terrify every taxpayer: “I’ve also said that if there are other ways to raise this funding, the most important fact is that we fund it — not the question of how we do it, but that we do it.” This is the mindset of a zealot, not a leader. The “how” is everything; it is the very essence of responsible governance. To dismiss the funding mechanism as an irrelevant detail is to embrace a fantasy that will inevitably crash into the hard walls of economic reality, with New Yorkers left to pay the price.
This spectacle in New York City serves as a stark contrast to the pragmatic, America-First policies of President Donald J. Trump. Where the socialist left sees a bottomless pit of other people’s money to fund their utopian dreams, President Trump’s administration focused on deregulation and tax cuts that fueled historic economic growth, raising all boats and increasing revenue through prosperity, not confiscation. The failure of Mamdani’s ideology before it even begins is a testament to the wisdom of President Trump’s warning that socialism promises equality, but only the equality of shared misery.
WATCH
Q: “How are you getting the $700M to make the buses free if the Governor is not for raising taxes?”
MAMDANI: “Through the raising of the state's corporate tax.”
Q: “But she said no…”
MAMDANI: “The most important fact is that we fund it, not the question of how we do it.” pic.twitter.com/rFiaHPAdSE
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) November 20, 2025
The painful, yet predictable, unraveling of this ‘free’ bus promise is a direct result of a media culture that fawns over radicalism while ignoring basic questions of arithmetic and feasibility. The liberal media acts as a cheerleader for these dangerous experiments, never demanding answers, only celebrating the rhetoric until the inevitable collapse, at which point they will simply move on to the next progressive fad, leaving a bankrupt city in their wake.
h/t: Steadfast and Loyal