The Bipartisan Smearing of Zoran Mamdani by the Entrenched Political Establishment

By The American Gadfly

Welcome to America, 2025. Where the political establishment, red and blue, can’t agree on health care, housing, or whether books should exist—but they sure as hell can agree on one thing: Zoran Mamdani must be destroyed.

This isn’t just about a mayoral race. This is about what happens when someone slips past the velvet rope and dares to pull up a folding chair to the power table. And suddenly, the entire apparatus—Republicans foaming at the mouth and Democrats clutching their pearls—mobilizes with more coordination than they’ve shown on climate, COVID, or Capitol security. Why? Because Mamdani represents a threat not just to the right, but to the rotting center—the donor-funded husk of the Democratic Party that would rather drown in its own irrelevance than let a Democratic Socialist win a mayorship.

Let’s break down this bipartisan bloodbath.

Part I: Republicans Go Full Crusade Mode

First, the GOP. America’s ruling party of grievance theater and fascist cosplay. The second Mamdani clinched the primary, the Republican machine fired up the 9/11 organ.

Charlie Kirk, walking haircut and professional grievance grifter, posted: "24 years ago, a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11. Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City."

Let’s pause.

That sentence has the rhetorical subtlety of a chainsaw at a funeral. Kirk wasn’t criticizing Mamdani’s platform—he was reminding his followers that brown + Muslim + socialist = target practice. It’s the same tired equation they’ve been using since they swapped powdered wigs for red hats.

And Charlie wasn’t alone. Donald Trump Jr., a man whose main political qualification is the tragic accident of his sperm donor, joined the pile-on. Laura Loomer, America’s most tenacious fascist intern, screamed into the void with the fury of someone permanently denied a White House press pass.

CAIR Action documented over 6,200 Islamophobic posts within 24 hours of Mamdani’s win. A fifth of them included threats or dehumanizing language. The rest? Just the warm-up act.

And then came Rep. Andy Ogles, who accused Mamdani of hiding terrorism sympathies during naturalization. He called for revoking Mamdani’s citizenship. That’s not rhetoric. That’s fascism with a letterhead.

Part II: Democrats, the Cowards in Blue

Now, let’s talk about the other side of the aisle. The party of dignity. Of resistance. Of equity. Of blowing a 50-point lead to a game show host.

The Democratic Party’s response to Mamdani’s win wasn’t celebration. It was panic. Not because of his policies—but because he was winning with them. They weren’t afraid he was unelectable. They were afraid he was electable without their permission.

Reps. Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi practically sprinted to a microphone to say, in unison: “We’re not socialists.”

Of course not, darling. You’re Democrats. You believe in means-testing insulin and banning TikTok before taxing Wall Street.

Gillibrand, ever the opportunist, withheld her endorsement, citing concerns about Mamdani’s refusal to denounce a chant he didn’t chant. The phrase in question? "Globalize the Intifada." To her, that was disqualifying.

Funny. I don’t remember her making such strong statements when the U.S. funded actual global wars. But sure, let's draw the line at slogans.

And then there’s Mayor Eric Adams. The man is a self-parody of every NYPD talking point in human form. He called Mamdani a “snake oil salesman” and claimed his free transit policies would bankrupt the city.

This from a guy who spent half a billion dollars on surveillance tech to stop people from stealing bananas from bodegas.

Part III: Smear Math — Same Goal, Different Language

Let’s do the math.

The Republicans are screaming about terrorism. The Democrats are wringing their hands about tone.

But both parties are saying the same thing: Mamdani doesn’t belong.

Republicans are open about it—they want to deport him. Democrats? They just want to politically disappear him.

They say he’s too radical. But here’s a radical idea: maybe New Yorkers want rent stabilization, free transit, and leaders who aren’t investment bankers in drag.

The truth is, both parties hate Mamdani because he exposes their shared fiction—that we live in a two-party system with real choices. Mamdani reminds us we don’t. We have the party of austerity and the party of austerity with better branding.

Part IV: The Donor Class Is Calling

Why is Bloomberg dropping $5 million to prop up Cuomo against Mamdani?

Because Mamdani’s policies are contagious. And contagions scare donors.

Free transit? That threatens the consultants who skim contracts from MTA expansions.

Rent control? That’s a direct assault on the real estate barons who write campaign checks.

Tax the rich? That’s a death knell for every champagne-sipping centrist who thinks equity ends at a hashtag.

So the knives come out. Quietly, of course. With concern. With civility. With op-eds and ghostwritten tweets and private DNC Zooms titled "How to Neutralize Mamdani Without Getting Caught."

Part V: This Is a Class War, Not a Culture War

You’ve heard it framed as a culture war—Mamdani’s faith, his slogans, his “electability.”

But peel back the layers. This is a class war.

Mamdani is dangerous because he’s coherent. Because his policies resonate. Because he didn’t ask permission.

He’s a working-class candidate in a political machine designed to launder corporate will through party discipline. And now that he's made it past the velvet rope, the bouncers are panicking.

This is why they smear him. Not to beat him—but to teach you a lesson: Don’t you dare try this at home.

Part VI: The Smear Strategy

Let’s lay it bare:

Party Tactic Goal GOP Islamophobia, red-baiting, terrorism slurs Stoke fear, solidify base Dems Electability panic, antisemitism charges, economic "realism" Kill momentum, starve oxygen

It’s a coordinated kneecapping, cloaked in plausible deniability. They’re not just attacking him. They’re manufacturing the illusion of consensus.

Because if you can convince enough voters that Mamdani is controversial, then you can erase the controversy you caused when you sold out your voters to Citibank.

Part VII: What Happens If He Wins?

If Mamdani wins, the center won’t hold. Not because he’ll abolish the police or hand out magic rent-free apartments—but because he’ll prove the establishment is vulnerable.

He’ll show that the donor firewall can be breached.

He’ll show that the Democratic base isn’t as centrist as MSNBC would have you believe.

And worst of all, he’ll show that a brown, Muslim, democratic socialist with zero loyalty to the donor class can not only win—but govern.

Which is why they must stop him now.

Conclusion: The Fire Next Time

This isn’t about Mamdani. Not really. It’s about you.

It’s about whether you buy the lie that you only have two choices.

It’s about whether you accept a party that would rather hand a mayor’s office to a Wall Street ghoul than risk a rent freeze.

It’s about whether you understand that the smear campaign isn’t designed to sway you. It’s designed to exhaust you.

To make you cynical.

To make you sit down.

But if you stand up, if you look past the smears, you’ll see what they’re really afraid of:

A future that isn’t beholden to donors.

A future where politics doesn’t serve capital, but people.

A future where Zoran Mamdani isn’t an exception. He’s the beginning.

Let them panic. Let them smear. Let them tremble. Because if Mamdani wins, it’s not just a victory. It’s a warning.