Adams Blasts Mamdani for ‘Romanticizing’ Socialism on the Campaign Trail

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is firing back at Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, warning voters not to be fooled by what he calls a “romanticized” and dangerous vision of socialism that would destroy local jobs, businesses, and communities.

Appearing on the Conversations with Coleman podcast, Adams didn’t hold back.

“We’re romanticizing the terminology… it always sounds good, you know, ‘I’m a socialist.’ But when you dig into what it means… you understand when you get stuff for free, someone is paying for it,” Adams said.

Adams, a former Democrat now running for reelection as an independent, painted a sobering picture of socialism based on what he’s seen firsthand.

“I’ve been to Cuba. I’ve been to Venezuela… I saw the empty shelves, the ration books in Cuba,” he said. “That’s what socialism actually looks like.”

His rebuke was aimed squarely at Mamdani, the far-left firebrand who defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary and has a documented history of quoting Karl Marx, championing state control of industries, and urging activists to “seize the means of production.”

Adams took particular issue with Mamdani’s proposal for government-run grocery stores, a plan he warned would devastate hardworking immigrant-owned businesses.

“Hey, what about the bodegas, brother?” Adams asked. “What about the Korean, Chinese, and Arab communities that built their lives on running stores? So we’re going to totally disregard them and collapse their entire industry?”

Mamdani’s platform reads like a socialist wish list:

• Government-owned grocery chains

• Eliminating billionaires

• Rejecting economic growth in favor of “equity”

• Raising taxes to fund bloated social programs

• Advocating open hostility toward New York’s most productive citizens

The 2021 video of Mamdani urging socialist organizers to resist compromise on “seizing the means of production” now looms large as voters realize just how radical his platform is.

While Mamdani has declined to comment on Adams’ remarks, the writing is on the wall. His campaign is steeped in hard-left ideology that ignores reality and threatens to gut New York’s economic base especially the small business owners and immigrants he claims to support.

Adams warned that socialism isn’t compassion it’s collapse.

“You get stuff for free, someone is paying for it,” he reminded listeners. “Usually it’s the working class.”

If New York is the test case for what happens when far-left ideology meets real-world consequences, voters would do well to learn from the suffering of socialist regimes elsewhere before they vote for one here.

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