Robert Reich: Zohran Mamdani embodies future of America’s Democratic Party
In a sharply worded essay for The Guardian, former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich says Mamdani’s working-class message and authenticity could help remake a dysfunctional Democratic Party
LONDON (MNTV) – Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has hailed New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as “the brightest light in the Democratic Party.”
He argued that the 34-year-old represents the kind of leadership America needs to rebuild a political movement for ordinary people.
In a commentary published Tuesday in The Guardian, Reich, who is professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote that Mamdani’s rise “should mark the birth of the people’s Democratic Party.”
He said the young lawmaker’s straightforward proposals—free buses, free childcare, a four-year rent freeze for about 2 million residents, and a $30 minimum wage—cut through the party’s technocratic jargon.
“He’s addressing the problems New Yorkers discuss at their kitchen tables,” Reich wrote.
“He’s not debating ‘Trumpism’ or ‘Democratic socialism.’ He’s proposing a few easy-to-understand things: fix it. You may not agree with all his proposals (I don’t), but they are understandable. And if they don’t work, I expect that, like FDR, he will try something else.”
Reich criticized the Democratic establishment for resisting Mamdani’s rise. He pointed out that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has yet to endorse him, while former President Bill Clinton has backed Andrew Cuomo, whom Reich accused of resorting to “racist, Islamophobic attacks we’d expect from Trump.”
He also took aim at The New York Times editorial board for advising Democrats to move toward the political “center,” calling that position “code for corporate Democrats using gobs of money to pursue culturally conservative swing voters.”
Reich asked pointedly: “Tell me, where is the center between democracy and fascism, and why would anyone want to go there?”
The veteran economist and author warned that decades of corporate influence had hollowed out the party’s core mission. “Corporate Democrats took the party away from its real mission: to lift up the working class and help the poor,” he wrote. “Instead, they pushed for globalization, privatization and the deregulation of Wall Street. They became Republican-lite.”
Reich contrasted that with Mamdani’s populist economic vision, which includes plans to raise $9 billion in new tax revenue by increasing taxes on the wealthy and large corporations. “He’s right,” Reich wrote. “The wealthy have never been as wealthy as they are now, while the tax rate they pay hasn’t been as low in living memory.”
Praising Mamdani’s authenticity and his ability to mobilize young people, Reich shared a personal note: “My 17-year-old granddaughter is spending her weekends knocking on doors for him, as are her friends.”
Reich concluded that Mamdani’s candidacy represents more than a local campaign—it signals a generational shift in American politics.
“This dark time should wake us up to the bankruptcy of the corporate Democratic Party,” he wrote. “Zohran Mamdani and others like him are its future.”
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