CNN’s Abby Phillip Grills Mamdani on Socialist Grocery Store Plan: ‘Government Is Not That Good’ at Running Businesses

CNN’s Abby Phillip pressed New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani (D) on his plan to open several government-run grocery stores, saying critics have correctly pointed out the socialist strategy has failed to work in other major cities.

Mamdani, during an appearance on CNN Newsnight on Friday, argued there have been “studies” that show the “applicability” of taxpayer-funded grocery stores in major cities like Chicago — and that gives him confidence they would work well in New York. He said he plans to open five government-run stores — one for each borough of the city — if he’s elected mayor in November. Phillip pushed back on Mamdani’s unnamed studies, saying there is a real world example that suggests it would be a train wreck.

“Another example is in Kansas City, where they had a government-run grocery store. And it’s been there for years, but it’s on the verge of closing because it doesn’t work,” Phillip said. “They’ve been riddled with crime. They’ve dealt with just a lack of inventory. There are other examples where it just hasn’t worked because, frankly, the government is not that good at being in the business of being in grocery stores.”

The Kansas City store Phillip referred to recently closed down, after opening in 2018 and receiving nearly $18 million in taxpayer funding.

Mamdani — who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York chapter — responded by saying he is optimistic NYC’s government-run stores would not suffer the same fate:

I say to that example, as well as the examples of our own failures, city government right here in New York City, that we have to prove not only the efficacy, but the excellence of this idea. Because for every one example that you can point to, there’s another of another municipality today [that is] considering opening a city-run grocery store. But to me, the most important thing is the outcome. This is something I believe will work. We will bring the best and the brightest to deliver it, and it will be five stores at the cost of $60 million — which is less than half the city’s already spending on subsidized corporate supermarkets.

His appearance on CNN came a few days after it was reported that President Donald Trump was offering NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) a job in his administration, as a way of “clearing the field” for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) to have a one-on-one matchup against Mamdani.

You can watch Phillip and Mamdani talk about his grocery store plan via CNN above.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!