Barack Obama Bernie Sanders AOC Turned Away From Socialism Post Election Will Zohran Mamdani

(Updated Jan. 2, 2026)

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani now has to follow through on his promises. Will he?

There has been a string of Democrats and/or card-carrying members of the Democratic Socialists of America of recent vintage that have touted left, far-left, Socialist agendas, only to take the oath and move back towards the center of the Democratic machine or allow the Democratic Party to roll over them.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the Brooklyn Paramount on election night, Nov.5, 2025. He garnered 50.8% of the vote.

President Barack Obama was endorsed by the Chicago wing of the DSA when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat in 1996. He was tacitly given the DSA nod in his 2008 run for the White House.

A banner seen at at 2011 Democratic Socialists of America convention.

However, as President of the United States, Mr. Obama was a huge advocate of war, through drones, to the tune of 540 strikes killing 3.797 people (including Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen born in New Mexico, who became a terrorist. There was no due process. Why bother with the Constitution when you are the President, right?)

Mr. Obama clamped down on whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and expedited the deportation of illegal immigrants.

Those actions are not DSA-like, and he lost a decent amount of their support over his eight years as President.

Bernie Sanders abandoned his claim to be the flag bearer of the radical left movement when he caved to the Democratic Party machine once he got too close to beating Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.

Lastly,  the politician every Republican and Conservative loves to hate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has become so far removed from her DSA roots that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has been consistently harassed at her town hall meetings for being a fraud-liar.

Which brings New York City, if not the entire country, to Zohran Mamdani proudly proclaiming that he too is a Democratic Socialist.

On January 1, Mr. Mamdani was sworn in as either the 111th or 112th Mayor of New York City.

In a sign that the U.S. is, in fact, a place of diversity, he was one of 42 Muslim Americans to win election this past fall. Mr. Mamdani is also New York City's first South Asian Muslim mayor and the first card-carrying member of the DSA to be a Big Apple mayor.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, during his inaugural address,

In his inaugural address, he praised Senator Bernie Sanders as "the man whose leadership I seek most to emulate," promised a "a new story of our city," and promoted a governing style of audacity and expansiveness that will never be accused of lacking the courage to try. 

All that is prologue to this question: What can he realistically accomplish?

A rhetorical question, the answer to which will spill out over his four-year term and is heavily dependant on the cooperation of others.

As he wakes up this morning to begin his first full day in office, Mr. Mamdani's ambitious or radical plan, depending on one's point of view, faces steep pushback.

Take, for example, his free bus program.  New York’s Mass Transit Authority is run by a board at the behest of the governor. Given the financial woes of New York State and New York City, topped by President Trump withholding grant money, will Governor Kathy Hochul look the other way and dive into a free-for-all bus approach that would cost New York City $800 million, sinking the City-State deeper into debt?

Ms. Hochul, along with the Community Service Society, Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, and the Riders Alliance, is not on board with Mr. Mamdani's plan. Rathey, they favor the Fair Fares discount program that provides reduced bus and subway fares for low-income New Yorkers.

The new Mayor's idea of setting up low-cost grocery stores to alleviate food deserts is a dicey proposition that seems destined to fail.

For one, government is lousy at running near everything, and Governor Hochul has stated that she is against the idea.

Two, grocery stores have a slim margin for error when it comes to profitability. Meaning it is extremely possible that these grocery stores become money pits. If they happen at all, many in the industry are coordinating a pushback, as Mr. Mamdani’s grocery store idea will hurt their business. I wouldn't be surprised if lawsuits tie up the idea, maybe until he is voted out.

More practically, why not rezone the city to allow mom-and-pop grocers to open up?

A similar pushback is in the works for Mamdani’s rent freeze idea. The game is on now as landlords and property owners prepare to go down the same road as grocers in courts.

Mr. Mamdani’s youthful energy, amiable character, and free stuff approach is appealing to many.  But the opposition to actually implementing these ideas is fierce.

Campaigning is one thing, governing is another. It’ll be fascinating to see how this all plays out.

Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read.

Photo Credit: CNN, Democratic Left Magazine, Jay Anthony NYC Government

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