Mamdani’s historic victory will have a big impact on Democrats
Whether you’re from Texas, Ohio or Arizona, Zohran Mamdani’s historic win will have an enormous impact on Democratic races in 2026.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy‘s scathing criticism of Zohran Mamdani is getting renewed attention in the wake of Mamdani’s mayoral win in New York City.
Answering a viewer’s question during an Oct. 25 YouTube livestream about whether he could “please” close Barstool’s New York City office in the event of Mamdani’s win, Portnoy replied, “Honestly, I’ve given that a lot of thought. He’s definitely going to win.”
The 48-year-old, who’s frequently been critical of Democrats, mulled over possibly moving his media company to neighboring New Jersey.
“Going to Hoboken or, like, Jersey City or something? I don’t want to … have an office (there). But we have all those people who that (messes) up their life just because I hate the guy,” he said. “It’s a catch-22. I may close the New York office … because I can’t stand the thought of Mamdani running … New York City. I can’t stand it. But a part of me is like, how much of it will actually change?”
Portnoy voted to “take a principled stand,” saying, “I told our finance guy to start looking around for property, no joke.”
He then continued to disparage Mamdani: “Thirty-something-year-old communist running New York City, has never had a job in his life, hates America — doesn’t seem like the best.”
The 34-year-old state assemblyman from Queens decisively won over New Yorkers during the Nov. 4 election. A self-described democratic socialist who shot to stardom in recent years, Mamdani will be the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first Asian American mayor (he was born in Uganda to parents who’d emigrated from India).
Despite being labeled as a communist by Republican figures like President Donald Trump, Mamdani has denied subscribing to communism. Speaking with CNN in June, he confirmed he has “many critiques of capitalism.”
He added, “the definition for me of why I call myself a democratic socialist is the words of Dr. King decades ago. He said, call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of god’s children in this country.”
‘He is a communist. I am a capitalist’
Portnoy clarified to The Daily Mail on Nov. 6 that Mamdani’s vow to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers is not his only gripe with the mayor-elect.
“The taxes is the least of it for me. He is a communist. I am a capitalist,” he said. “I think wanting to be successful and rich is a positive quality. He thinks it makes you evil. I think hard work should be rewarded. He wants everybody to get a trophy.”
In a 2022 TikTok video, Portnoy said he’d purchased property in Miami “to save money because I make hundreds of millions” of dollars. Taking to X following Mamdani’s win, Portnoy wrote, “If this is what the people of NYC want (then) so be it. Thank god I don’t live there anymore.”
Speaking with USA TODAY earlier this year, Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, said Mamdani’s proposed 2% tax increase is a flat rate on all income earned by a wealthy New Yorker, “down to their first dollar.” It would raise the top tax rate in the city from roughly 3.9% to 5.9%.
At that rate, high earners “would be paying more in city taxes in New York than they would be paying in state taxes in most states,” Walczak said.
Zohran Mamdani addresses Trump in speech after mayoral race win
After winning the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani had just four words for President Donald Trump.
Often critical of the Democratic Party, Portnoy cast his vote for Trump in the 2024 election. Speaking with NPR’s “Morning Edition” in June, Portnoy clarified that his choice was more “an indictment of the Democrats than an endorsement of Trump’s politics.”
Mamdani’s platform focused heavily on affordability, with the mayor-elect promising to freeze rent increases on rent-stabilized apartments, make buses free, launch city-run grocery stores in each borough and enact universal child care. He also pushed to increase the minimum wage, build 200,000 new affordable housing units and create a community safety department to shift certain emergency calls, such as mental health crises, away from police.
To achieve his priorities, he has pushed for tax increases on corporations and the city’s wealthiest 1%, but that would require approval from state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has said she opposes raising taxes. Hochul did, however, endorse Mamdani after he won the Democratic nomination.
Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas and Daniel de Visé, USA TODAY