They are polar opposites, which is why it’s almost shocking that President Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will meet today in the Oval Office in what is bound to be one whopper of a photo-op. And you don’t have to be a fan of Mamdani and his dreams of transforming the nation’s largest city into a socialist utopia to realize, as Trump apparently does, that his message in winning the race for mayor of New York City was in many ways pitch-perfect. After years of Democrats focusing on issues of dubious efficacy like DEI, climate change, and the rights of illegal immigrants and transgenders, Mamdani hammered away at the precise issue that most influences voters, affordability, and the demographic most affected by it, young people. His strategy was so effective that the affordability mantra was adopted by the president immediately after Election Day and stands to be the focal point of the 2026 midterms.
Mamdani properly calculated that his brazenly socialist policy proposals, designed to lower the cost of living, many or most of which scare the bejesus out of seasoned voters, would not have the same effect on the young. He understood that Gen Zers did not live through the days of the Soviet Union and thus are largely unaware and unaffected by the millions who were imprisoned, murdered, or starved to death under socialist/communist tyranny. These voters, many of whom were casting ballots for the first time, were driven almost entirely by the fact that NYC has become downright unaffordable. That is why Mamdani promised rent controls, free buses, and heavily subsidized, city-run grocery stores.
Affordability and Communism
Having already been effectively driven out of the city he loves and whose skyline he greatly influenced, Trump has repeatedly expressed his contempt for Mamdani by calling him a communist. He has promised to turn off the federal funding spigot if the new mayor actually implements the bulk of his budget-busting initiatives, which are likely to drive corporations and people of means out of town and shrink the city’s tax base. Meanwhile, Mamdani promises to work with NYC’s far-left city council to approve hundreds of millions in new spending.
Despite his many recent claims that the country is soaring economically, the president is undoubtedly animated these days by surveys giving him low marks for his handling of the economy and inflation, the issues that consistently top the list of voter concerns. According to the Liberty Nation Public Square average of polls, Trump is 15 points underwater on the economy (40%-55%) and 27 points on inflation (34%-61%).
Trump promised to lower food prices that soared during the Biden era, but in a CBS News poll conducted in October, only 19% of respondents said food prices are cheaper than a year earlier. Beyond that, another staple of the economy, housing, represents arguably the greatest crisis of all. The average age of first-time homebuyers has risen from 26 to 40 years old, while the cost of the average new home has increased by almost 50% since 2020. Add to that mortgage rates that have almost tripled since the year of the pandemic, and it’s no wonder young voters in New York were willing to roll the dice on socialism.
Too Early to Judge?
In fairness, the many provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill will not take effect until 2026, so much can change in the year before midterms. One would expect that the preservation of low tax rates, combined with the elimination of taxes on tips, overtime, and social security, will likely improve the economic outlook, though the efficacy of Trump’s signature tariff regime remains complicated and unclear.
Americans now pay an average of $265 per month in utility costs, up 12% since last year, according to a recent report from The Century Foundation. And of course, healthcare costs may also spike with Covid-era subsidies to insurance companies set to expire in December. Even though the Affordable Care Act has become increasingly unaffordable and unsustainable, voters will be far less interested in political infighting about its future than their own growing bottom line, which they will, as always, largely blame on the man currently in the White House.
Can Trump succeed in lowering food, healthcare, and housing costs enough for Republicans to survive the midterms with continued control of Congress? That is the $64,000 question. The economy and inflation are just two of the several indicators revealing public dissatisfaction with Trump’s performance to date. Heck, even on foreign policy, where Trump has negotiated peace deals or ceasefires on eight different fronts and devastated Iran’s nuclear program, the president’s approval sits at an average of just 43%. But international affairs, immigration, crime, or trade will not be top of mind for voters in next year’s elections. It will be all about pocketbook issues. Zohran Mamdani cleverly appealed to voters’ economic anxiety during his meteoric rise from obscurity, but that was all about promises made. For Donald Trump in 2026, it will be all about promises kept – or not.
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