‘Nothing’s Free!’ MSNBC Host Doubts Mamdani Can Deliver on His Lower Cost of Living Promises
MSNBC’s Michael Steele was extremely skeptical that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D) would be able to deliver on his promise of a lower cost of living for New Yorkers, expressing no small amount of doubt about it on Thursday’s edition of Alex Witt Reports.
One recent Quinnipiac poll showed that Mamdani, a democratic socialist, leads the race with 46 percent of likely voters; followed by Andrew Cuomo (I) with 33 percent; and Curtis Sliwa (R) with 15 percent support. Embattled current Mayor Eric Adams (D) dropped out of the race at the end of September.
“Look, at the end of the day, Mamdani, if he wins is going to have to do like every other mayor of New York, and that is, figure out how to govern,” Steele said on Thursday. “The things that he’s proposed and says he wants — while he’s saying he wants to cut the cost — costs money. So, you know those that’s the reality that New Yorkers are having to deal with and how they balance that.”
“Has Mamdani done a good job with making it about issues and less about him, at least among New Yorkers?” Witt asked. “He talks about how he goes down the street and someone will just shout out one of his slogans, but it’s an issue slogan. They’ll just say, ‘Free buses!’ And he likes that.”
“Here’s the little thing about issues: You gotta implement them,” Steele said. “You gotta govern around them. And so, yes, someone shouting out, ‘Free fill-in-the-blank.’ Nothing’s free!”
Steele continued:
I was lieutenant governor of the state. There are a lot of things that we campaigned on that the reality of governing changes the way you govern. So, all of a sudden, ‘free’ has a price tag. And what happens eight months when he’s looking at his polling and he’s at 32% approval because he hasn’t delivered ‘free’? Because he’s got to reconcile ‘free’ with the…city council. He’s got to reconcile ‘free’ with the governor of the state. He’s got to reconcile ‘free’ with the millionaires and other very wealthy New Yorkers who pay the majority of the taxes in the…city.
Steele concluded, “I’d like to see him close the deal and reconcile the ‘free’ with the price tag that’s awaiting…whether it’s health care, grocery stores, whatever it is, that’s on his agenda.”
President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal money from New York City if Mamdani wins. And pro-Trump billionaire Bill Ackman recently donated $1 million to an anti-Mamdani SuperPAC in an attempt to defeat him.
Watch the clip above via MSNBC.
