Lippey | Mamdani, Trump and ‘Owning the Libs’

Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City Democratic Mayoral Primary was a surprise to many — not me, though. It makes sense. Americans, especially New Yorkers, are fed up with establishment, life-in-office democrats, especially with the mercurial President Donald Trump. In a city where almost 70% of citizens voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, Mamdani, the “anti-Trump” candidate, easily wins against a corrupt current mayor and a disgraced former governor.

However, even as a Democrat, I believe that many of Zohran Mamdani’s policies will be disastrous for New York. An over 4% percent increase in NYC’s corporate tax will only fuel the flight to low-tax states like Texas and Florida, which could possibly cost Democrats’ elections after the next census. City-run grocery stores and free buses will only add to the city’s monumental debt, not to mention Mamdani’s lack of experience and questionable history as a hip-hop artist.

Despite this, I found myself rooting for Zohran Mamdani. I laughed at the utter shock on the faces of Fox News hosts when he won the primary. The complete meltdown of the pro-war-overseas elite, promising to flee the city if he wins the election. Part of my disgruntlement with the Trump Administration had been satiated with the endorsement of socialist policies that I don’t necessarily agree with. 

Zohran Mamdani is a populist through and through. He stages himself not just as a man of the people, but as one of the people, even going as far as to take the public bus to his most recent mayoral debate. His rhetoric frequently attacks the radical MAGA agenda, and he has handily become the future of the Democratic Party and its race to rebuild itself to combat Trump. Mamdani proposes radical, anti-establishment change. His success in the primary election was a shock.

Sound familiar?

Following the Obama and Biden Administrations, Trump was able to capitalize on a wave of anti-establishment belief sweeping the United States. What people fail to realize is that this wave also hit the left; their views of what exactly the establishment is are drastically different, however. For the left, Trump is the establishment, and his counterpart for the left, Mamdani, appears as the savior that Democrats have been waiting for.   

I try to empathize with citizens on the other side of the political spectrum. Coming from a divided, politically active family, it’s in my nature. However, I struggle to understand the support for Trump given his glaring hypocrisies. How is Trump a “man of the people” when he himself is the elite? How is Trump the candidate supposedly upholding justice when he violates the law so often? Why do Cubans in my hometown of Miami vote so overwhelmingly for Trump despite his authoritarian governing style and attacks on Hispanic citizens?

The answer is simple: they’re “owning the libs.” What originally began as a harmless online joke to describe the mass hysteria from Democrats following the 2016 presidential election has turned into the basis of American political culture. We have devolved from respectful debate and dialogue to personal attacks and mounting polarization.

In this landscape, Americans hate each other so much that we are willing to vote against our own interests just to anger the other side of the political spectrum, in a rather Schadenfreudal manner. Trump and Mamdani aren’t equal evils. I would take a city-funded grocery store over the deportation of political rivals any day. But the similarities are notable. 

Trump and Mamdani are just two of the politicians who have normalized radical, big-government ideologies and political polarization in the United States, an issue I believe, if unchecked, will lead to the downfall of our democracy.

With Eric Adams dropping out of the election and Andrew Cuomo’s unbelievably poor candidacy, it is likely that Zohran Mamdani will win the election tomorrow. So, what do we do? When the insults start flying and the rivalries Mamdani and Trump fuel start heating up, we can’t place bets. We can’t add to the fire of the political showdown because increasingly volatile polarization renders democracy useless. 

Moderation, respect and empathy are the solutions to this political crisis. Collaboration, not division, is the key to each political party’s success. A Stanford study found that “empathizing with your political opponents increases your chances of changing their minds.” Additionally, a recent New York Times Editorial Board article states that all 16 representatives whose districts voted for the other party in the presidential election are moderates, showing how moderation allows for reaching across the aisle. These are the races and strategies that limit apathy towards politics, creating candidates that people are truly passionate and excited about, rather than simply the lesser of two evils.

Regardless of who wins the election, it is our civic responsibility to ensure the American experiment does not end and democracy stays intact. We win and lose gracefully, not delve into the bickering of our current political culture. We must stand united in a shared belief in this country.

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