Democrats really can’t help themselves. Time and again, they show us that they are terrible people, that loyalty means nothing, that unity is a joke, and that their petty power games take precedence over any notion of principle.
The latest drama out of New York lays this bare: Governor Kathy Hochul went out on a limb to endorse Zohran Mamdani, the socialist Democrat who’s running for mayor of New York City, and in return he essentially shrugged, smirked, and walked away. Hochul handed him a gift, hoping to hitch herself to his rising clout in New York City politics, and Mamdani responded by saying he wasn’t ready to back her re-election campaign. Translation: thanks, but no thanks.
This wasn’t some minor snub buried in the inside pages of a newspaper. It was a very deliberate move that made Hochul look weak in her own party. Hochul not only embraced him; she did so publicly in a guest essay in the New York Times, portraying him as a champion of affordability in New York City. She was practically begging progressives to see her as one of them, despite the fact that Mamdani himself has made a career out of trashing her priorities.
Before I continue, I should note that I have zero sympathy for Kathy Hochul, and she deserves to be humiliated. But my big takeaway from this story is that Mamdani is a real snake. I don’t really know what his play here is, but Hochul could have easily endorsed Andrew Cuomo and probably given a boost to his campaign. Instead, she gave Republicans ammunition to link her and Mamdani together when such an alliance could be costly to the governor’s reelection campaign.
Naturally, Rep. Elise Stefanik (D-N.Y.), who could end up running against Hochul next year, couldn’t help but seize on it, mocking the governor for essentially being humiliated in public. And it wasn’t just Republicans noticing.
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Veteran strategist Hank Sheinkopf flat-out said what everyone’s thinking: this exchange showed that the balance of power in New York Democrats’ bloodstream is moving away from Hochul and toward the radicals like Mamdani and his allies in the Democratic Socialists of America. When Hochul herself can't command loyalty within her own party—even from someone whose career she just boosted—you know something is rotten.
Yiatin Chu of the Asian Wave Alliance cut to the chase with a simple line: “Hochul got played.” And that’s exactly right. She thought she could buy credibility with the city’s socialist rising star by attaching herself to him. Instead, she got boxed into an awkward corner by someone who had trashed her on Israel, sneered at her remarks about Canada, and generally made clear that he doesn’t respect her leadership at all. Hochul endorsed him after all of that, and what does she have to show for it? Nothing but embarrassment.
The ugly truth is that Hochul may actually need Mamdani, no matter how much he humiliates her now. His strength lies in mobilizing first-time voters and younger leftists—the same crowd that helped him topple Cuomo in the primaries over the summer. Without their energy and turnout, Hochul’s odds in a general election look far worse. And that is precisely why Mamdani can stiff-arm her endorsement without consequence. He holds the enthusiasm she desperately craves, and he knows she’ll keep crawling back for it.
What’s happening in New York is emblematic of the broader rot in the Democratic Party. It’s snakes all the way down. They betray each other, humiliate one another in public, and still expect voters to believe they’re the adults in the room. If Hochul can’t even command respect from the radicals she props up, why should anyone respect her—or the party she leads?
