Conservative commentator Meghan McCain issued a strong warning to fellow Republicans on Monday in response to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent criticism of the right, praising the progressive leader for striking a “brilliant” tone.
Referring to Mamdani’s interview with The New York Times last week, McCain, the daughter of the late GOP Sen. John McCain, called the mayor “brilliant in his attacks against the right” in post on X on Monday.
“The tone of what he is saying is brilliant. It is part folksy everyman, republicans have abandoned the working class and are a bunch of elites without being harsh or conspiratorial,” she wrote. “He has gotten very strong, very fast and is evolving in his national messaging to the rest of the country.”
McCain warned that “if democrats are smart they will nominate someone with his tenor and tone on economics and national policy.”
Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, has made the working class and the cost-of-living crisis the center of his politics. Some Republicans have employed that tactic on the campaign trail, including President Donald Trump, who, in a December speech in Pennsylvania, promised “lower prices, bigger paychecks.” Still, his massive tariffs and the war with Iran have increased inflation and sharply driven up prices for goods and gasoline.
The economy is a top concern for voters, according to a July CNBC survey. Asked what are the most important issues to them right now, a majority of respondents said the cost of food and groceries, followed by protecting democracy, as well as immigration and border security. Housing and healthcare costs followed closely behind.
“For too long, it has felt like our party, the Democratic Party, the only answer we have is to say that we are not the Republican Party. The only answer we have is a response to the cruelty of the federal administration,” Mamdani said in the Times interview published Saturday. “But we also have to have a vision of what comes after this administration. And I think that at the heart of that has to be a vision for that working person, and that’s why it is so critical to speak about that not just here in New York City but anywhere those people are struggling.”
Mamdani is part of a wave of progressive candidates gaining support nationwide and challenging the Democratic old guard. He has been likened to a kingmaker after congressional candidates whom he endorsed — including Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez — won their primary elections in New York, some over Democratic incumbents. His endorsements have been at odds with the Democratic establishment, including fellow New Yorkers like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Progressives have also won primaries in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., and they are running for Democratic nominations in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota next month.
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