New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is confirming that he is precisely the sort of figure many critics warned he would be: An in-over-his-head communist with deep ties to terrorism sympathizers and antisemites — one of whom, it appears, is his spouse. While his base loves and shares his radicalism, many NYC voters were seduced by his “affordability” talk, sold with an ear-to-ear grin. Reality is now setting in. 

Last month, Mamdani addressed a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall, warning that major tax increases will be necessary to try to close the gap. His top preference, he insisted, is a new “wealth tax,” which even many Democrats acknowledge would chase more wealth out of the city, as it has everywhere it’s been tried. Such counter-productive schemes have been such a failure that many European adopters were forced into retreat and repeal. California is currently bleeding companies and high-dollar taxpayers due to the threat of a looming, confiscatory wealth tax. If Mamdani doesn’t get his ruinous way on that front, however, he said major property tax increases will need to smack New Yorkers.