Late-night host Bill Maher has unleashed a scathing attack on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling him a "straight-up communist" and warning Democrats that they will lose more elections if they fail to reject his ideology.
In a recent episode of "Real Time," Maher took aim at Mamdani's advisors, particularly Cea Weaver, who was appointed director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants. Weaver had previously made several inflammatory comments on her now-deleted X account, including calls to "impoverish the white middle class" and seize private property.
Maher seized on these comments to declare that Mamdani is a communist, saying he knows this by reading between the lines. He argued that Democrats cannot afford to deny Mamdani's socialism, or they will lose more elections. Maher likened the situation to a " pendulum that never lands in the middle," where voters are forced to choose between two extremes.
The comedian took aim at the Democratic Party's increasing enthusiasm for democratic socialist candidates, urging them to take a lesson from last week's special elections. He warned that if they fail to heed this advice, they will suffer the consequences.
Maher's comments sparked outrage among Democrats and leftists, who accused him of being out of touch with the views of the party's base. However, Maher remains steadfast in his criticism of Mamdani and democratic socialism, arguing that these ideologies are a threat to American democracy.
The controversy surrounding Mamdani's ideology highlights the growing divide within the Democratic Party between those who support progressive policies and those who see them as radical and divisive. As Maher pointed out, the choices voters face in elections are increasingly between two extremes: either crony capitalism or communism.
In a recent episode of "Real Time," Maher took aim at Mamdani's advisors, particularly Cea Weaver, who was appointed director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants. Weaver had previously made several inflammatory comments on her now-deleted X account, including calls to "impoverish the white middle class" and seize private property.
Maher seized on these comments to declare that Mamdani is a communist, saying he knows this by reading between the lines. He argued that Democrats cannot afford to deny Mamdani's socialism, or they will lose more elections. Maher likened the situation to a " pendulum that never lands in the middle," where voters are forced to choose between two extremes.
The comedian took aim at the Democratic Party's increasing enthusiasm for democratic socialist candidates, urging them to take a lesson from last week's special elections. He warned that if they fail to heed this advice, they will suffer the consequences.
Maher's comments sparked outrage among Democrats and leftists, who accused him of being out of touch with the views of the party's base. However, Maher remains steadfast in his criticism of Mamdani and democratic socialism, arguing that these ideologies are a threat to American democracy.
The controversy surrounding Mamdani's ideology highlights the growing divide within the Democratic Party between those who support progressive policies and those who see them as radical and divisive. As Maher pointed out, the choices voters face in elections are increasingly between two extremes: either crony capitalism or communism.
. He's being kinda real, you know? We can't just ignore the fact that some of these progressive politicians are pushing some radical ideas 
. I mean, I get it, democratic socialism might sound appealing to some people, but when you start talking about seizing private property and "impoverishing" the white middle class, that's a whole different story 
.
. But at the same time, we can't just dismiss people who are trying to shake things up and push for change 
.
. We can't just label someone a "communist" without giving them the benefit of the doubt 
. And yeah, maybe some people are out of touch with the views of the party's base, but that doesn't mean we can't learn from each other and find common ground 
.
I get why he's trying to stir the pot, but what really gets me is how Maher is using this as an excuse to bash democratic socialism in general. It's like, he's painting all of these progressive policies with the same brush and that's just not right... 
on one hand, zohran mamdani's advisors do seem pretty extreme with their comments 
and it's fair to say that some folks are getting a bit too comfortable with the 'democratic socialist' label 
doesn't that just oversimplify things? 
and what about the idea of a 'middle ground'? isn't that just code for 'we're too scared to take real action' 
or are maher's pendulum comments actually onto something? 
i dunno... maybe bill's just being his usual contrarian self, but it's hard not to wonder if there's some truth to what he's saying 
and i gotta say i'm kinda with him lol even tho i don't think he called mamdani a "straight-up communist" but like the dude is trying to nationalize private property and all that jazz it does sound super socialist to me 
my bf is a socialist and he's always going on about how much better the economy would be under a democratic system but honestly i'm just over here thinking about how i'd lose access to affordable rent if mamdani becomes mayor 
anyway Maher seems right in his assessment that democrats are stuck between a rock and a hard place with all this progressive vs capitalist stuff 
. I don’t know about all this democratic socialism stuff but it seems to be causing some real friction within the party