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America’s most populous — and possibly most iconic — city is days away from possibly electing a self-defined socialist as its mayor. A former Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that a win for Zohran Mamdani could mark a shift towards Marxism in New York City.
“I could never fathom the thought of having a Marxist leading my city, the crown jewel city of the United States, of the world, of the free world,” Gene Hamilton, America First Legal co-founder and president, told Fox News Digital.
The heated New York City mayoral race has garnered national attention as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, now running as an independent, Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa face off in an all-out battle to govern the city.
Hamilton, who formerly served as White House Deputy Counsel, noted some polls have shown a divide between U.S.- and foreign-born voters, with those coming from outside the country leaning more towards the young socialist. Hamilton said he sees this as evidence of long-failed immigration policies, as well as a shift away from promoting assimilation and towards pushing integration.
NEW JERSEY DEMS SNUB ENDORSING SOCIALIST CANDIDATE MAMDANI AS GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION LOOMS
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani accepts an endorsement from the United Bodegas of America in the Bronx, New York City, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
“One of the things we’ve seen over the last several decades is an emphasis amongst many social organizations, nonprofits, the government itself, on this concept of pushing integration, and not assimilation. ‘Assimilation’ was treated as a dirty word,” Hamilton said, highlighting resistance against pushing for immigrants to adopt American culture.
He said the difference is that integration now means that “we’re integrating you from whatever background you have, whatever political ideology you have, and we’re just integrating you into…
