The Surging Popularity of Zohran Mamdani Demonstrates How Establishment Democrats are Losing Their Base: The Ben Shapiro Show
- Staff Writer
- Jul 4
- 2 min read
Ben Shapiro, host of The Ben Shapiro Show at The Daily Wire, recently discussed the rising popularity of populist democratic socialists because of the establishment Democratic Party’s inability to win over voters and remain competitive.
NY State Representative Zohran Mamdani has recently become the new sweetheart of the Democratic Party, officially winning the New York City primary, convincingly ousting the establishment choice, Former NYC Mayor Andrew Cuomo. After President Donald Trump and the Conservatives' sweeping victories in last year's historic election, many within the Democratic Party have grown disenfranchised with the Party and are turning away from the establishment.
Shapiro says that the Democratic establishment is facing a “rear-guard losing battle against their radical base,” with Mamdani garnering popularity after promising to buy private property and make them into “communes.” Mamdani has also touted the possibility of creating government-run grocery stores in the city, which has already made many distributors nervous about having to leave, already driving away business in the city.
Mamdani has become popular among the working class and younger voters for these seemingly great ideas. Shapiro refutes the possibility of these government programs, pointing to a similar program in St Louis and it being a disaster because of abuse from the tenants and the management being horrible because of no profit incentive, becoming “slums” and “hell-holes.”
“He is running directly for the heart of the Democratic Party.”, said Shapiro. Mamdani’s popularity signals a shift within the Democratic Party after there was an apparent need for reform following the historic loss in the 2024 election. Self-proclaimed democratic socialists like Mamdani, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-D) or Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT-I), will become even more popular as the party wrestles with finding a path forward, driving the party even more towards the far left.
