This essay appeared in the Oct. 16, 2025 edition of UNFTR’s premium newsletter. Become a UNFTR member to receive our bonus newsletter each week and for other perks.
On Wednesday, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani took his message of affordability and economic fairness to the one place most Democratic-leaning politicians avoid at all costs, possibly to their and the left’s detriment: the airwaves of Fox News.
In doing so, the largely conservative and Trump-obsessed audience that religiously tunes in to the network saw a version of Mamdani inconsistent with his portrayal by Trump and others on the right. Since the state assemblyman’s meteoric rise politically, the right has instinctively dismissed Mamdani as a threat because he wants to, among other things, open five city-owned grocery stores in a municipality of nearly 8.5 million people, making it larger by population than all but 12 states in the country.
Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor following his trouncing of competitors in the party primary this summer, including former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, smiled throughout the mostly amicable interview with Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum that featured at least two instances of him speaking directly to the camera to address both Trump and Cuomo, the latter of whom is not living up to his vote-Blue-no-matter-who contractual obligations.
In the end, Mamdani came off as a politician who entered that interview with a plan to keep the focus on his affordability agenda, and not to get caught up in deep discussions about other issues, such as the recent “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas, a common line of questioning whenever Mamdani is involved.
Underscoring that point, he was clearly prepared for potentially bad faith questions, most notably one about whether he has the experience to lead a city as large and complex as New York. MacCallum did not ask about his political experience, but his lack of business acumen—clearly a way of preventing Mamdani from invoking Trump’s name, who never served in elected office before his rise to the presidency in 2016, but navigated multiple bankruptcies of his namesake real estate empire. When MacCallum tried to not-so-subtly trip Mamdani up by quizzing him on how many people he’d oversee in New York City government, he instantly had the answer—and punctuated his response with his widest smile of the night, as if to say, “Nice try!”
It was a masterclass in steering the conversation into comfortable political territory. Mamdani seemingly found a way to direct the focus repeatedly onto affordability, an issue even MacCallum conceded was very much real and important to discuss. The nearly 2 million people who, on average, tune in to her show had to be shell-shocked that Mamdani wasn’t enthusiastically brandishing Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” or declaring that he’d raze Wall Street on his first day in office, as the right’s caricature of him would suggest.
Perhaps the most widely shared clip from the one-on-one came on the very question about his experience, making it instead about working-class issues and painting the current economic conditions people are experiencing as an indictment of the establishment.
“I want to take this moment because you spoke about President Trump, and he might be watching right now. I want to speak directly to the president,” Mamdani said. “I will not be a mayor like Mayor Adams, who will call you to figure out how to stay out of jail. I won’t be a disgraced governor like Andrew Cuomo, who will call you to ask how to win this election. I can do those things on my own. I will, however, be a mayor who is ready to speak at any time to lower the cost of living. That’s the way I’m going to lead this city. That’s the partnership I want to build, not only with Washington, D.C., but anyone across this country. I think it’s important because, too often, the focus on the needs of working-class Americans, working-class New Yorkers, are put to the side as we talk more and more about the very kinds of corrupt politicians like Andrew Cuomo that delivered us into this kind of crisis.”
It was a shrewd move from Mamdani. If you’ll recall, one of his first viral moments occurred after the presidential election when he interviewed Trump voters in parts of the Bronx and Queens, most of whom mentioned the cost of living when justifying their selection last November. While on the surface it appears as if Mamdani is offering his hand across the aisle, he was actually reminding those voters that nothing has substantively changed for the better economically since they pulled the lever, so to speak, for Trump, potentially making his affordability message that much more appealing.
There was something for everyone Wednesday night. The “Abundance Bros” likely felt validated when Mamdani discussed loosening regulations for small businesses, and the pro-police side of the aisle received the public apology they’ve been clamoring for over past social media posts from Mamdani that seemingly offended them.
On public safety, Mamdani effectively highlighted one of the most under-reported issues related to policing and crime: mental health. While MacCallum tried to get Mamdani to denounce bail reform, using the example of the subway killing of a 64-year-old Brooklyn man earlier this month, allegedly by someone who has been arrested dozens of times, Mamdani noted how Rikers Island, the city’s jail, has historically served as the de facto mental health institution for people in crisis. It was during this exchange that Mamdani didn’t break from his principles—telling an insistent MacCallum that improved mental health treatment is one way to improve public safety.
It’s clear that Mamdani is simply just good at politicking. While some may contend that agreeing to an interview with Fox News is dangerous because it gives the network legitimacy, bringing your ideas to an audience that’s been trained to despise you based on fear-mongering can actually work to not only make your ideas seem more reasonable, but make it more difficult for your political rivals to demonize you.
And what better way to deflect bad faith attacks from within the belly of the beast than with a smile.
Image Source
Image Description: Campaign poster for Zohran Mamdani, Democratic candidate for New York City Mayor. The poster features an image of Mamdani, smiling. The text reads ‘Democrat For Mayor’ at the top, ‘Zohran’ in large letters, a blue circular badge saying ‘Vote November 4’ and the slogan ‘For a New York You Can Afford,’ at the bottom. The campaign website ‘ZohranForNYC.com’ and a QR code are displayed at the bottom of the poster.
Rashed Mian
