Neoconservative “Never Trumper” Bill Kristol endorsed socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, saying he wished Mamdani were less “against Israel and all that,” but called him “a very impressive politician.”
In an Oct. 9 interview with Claremont McKenna College’s The Forum, the former Republican commentator called the idea of ex–New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo running for mayor “ridiculous.”
“I think a lot of the younger Democrats are quite impressive,” Kristol told the outlet. When asked which stood out, he named Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, and Zohran Mamdani.
“I live in Virginia. So, Abigail Spanberger, who I think will win in November, is really excellent,” he said. “It might be Sherrill, actually, in New Jersey, excellent. And so, part of my core praise for Mamdani has been that, you know what, if we elect three Democrats who win in November—the three big races, really—and it’s Spanberger or Sherrill and Mamdani? That’s okay.”
Kristol had previously expressed support for Spanberger and Sherrill, but his interview with The Forum marked the first time he suggested he would have voted for Mamdani if he still lived in New York City.
“You know, New York City gets to have a left-wing mayor,” Kristol told the outlet, which noted that he serves as chairman of the CMC center that hosts the student publication. “It’s not the first time, and it’s different from the rest of the country. I wish they were a little less, you know, tolerant of certain things—on Israel, and so, against Israel and all that. But some of the economic stuff, I think, is just silly, but I don’t think it’s going to matter.”
When asked directly if he would vote for Mamdani if he lived in New York City, where he was born and raised in a Jewish household, Kristol replied, “You know, I think so.”
“I really can’t think—the idea of going back to Cuomo is just, I think, ridiculous,” he argued. “I think if it had been the first round, I would’ve voted for someone else and maybe wouldn’t have even ranked Mamdani and would’ve had other people who were more centrist, liberal types.”
Calling the “big shot finance types” in New York City “pathetic” for backing Cuomo, Kristol said Mamdani is “not going to destroy” the city with his socialist economic plan.
“New York is a huge city. He’s not going to destroy it, I don’t think. He’s gonna set up five silly government-run grocery stores, I guess… And so they’ll be fine,” Kristol said. “So there’ll be some grocery store somewhere and it won’t be as good as the privately run ones, and it will go out of business in three years and it’ll be a little bit of a waste of taxpayer money, you know? Or it’ll be harmless, you know?”
He then claimed that conservatives’ reactions to Mamdani’s political rise and his background as a Uganda-born Muslim have been “a little hysterical.”
“He’s a very impressive politician. I don’t know that he’s going to be a very good mayor. He’s 33 years old, he’s never run anything. They’re good people who could work for him though, in New York,” Kristol said. “So, who knows? I don’t know.”
Did anyone have on their bingo card Bill Kristol endorsing a commie jihadist? https://t.co/rBbrmjKl0b
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 30, 2025
