The New York Times has officially lost its mind.

This week, the paper of record published what might be one of the most laughable, dishonest, and deliberately deceptive defenses of New York City Councilman Zohran Mamdani yet. According to the Times, he’s not really a socialist. Nope, perish the thought! He’s just, you know, an energetic, forward-thinking public servant who loves his constituents. Never mind that he literally ran on the Democratic Socialists of America ticket. Never mind that he openly identifies as a member of the DSA. The Times’ job is to memory-hole inconvenient truths and launder hard-left extremism into something palatable for brunch liberals.

But if Mamdani isn’t a socialist, then what exactly is he? The short answer: exactly what his own record, words, and allies say he is—a radical DSA ideologue with a program for New York City that would make Fidel Castro blush.

Don’t take my word for it. Just look at the *actual* DSA agenda floating around for NYC (and reportedly tied to Mamdani’s camp). Among the “highlights”:

- Decriminalize all drugs

- Spring criminals from jail

- Redefine “youthful offender” up to age 26 (because who among us isn’t just a confused “youth” while committing armed robbery in their mid-20s?)

- Disband the NYPD

- Get rid of gang databases

- Expand sanctuary city protections while handcuffing ICE

- Remove cops from schools

- Mandate DEI schooling agendas

- Allow minors to undergo gender transitions without parental consent

- Free public transportation (paid for by whom, you might ask? Don’t worry, it’s “the rich.”)

- City-owned grocery stores (because nothing says “fresh produce” like the DMV managing your tomatoes)

- Seize private land

- Abolish the Board of Elections

This is not “progressive.” This is not “reform.” This is not “compassion.” This is the DSA openly laying out a blueprint to turn New York into a socialist experiment, complete with state seizure of property, the elimination of law enforcement, and the destruction of parental rights. If that’s not socialism, what is it?

But here’s the real trick. The Times knows that the word “socialist” still doesn’t sell in America. Most Americans, even in New York, don’t want to live in Caracas or Havana. They want functioning subways, safe streets, and schools where kids learn math instead of Marx.

So the Times has to run interference. Their reporters smooth out the sharp edges, write glowing profiles, and insist—against all evidence—that Mamdani is nothing more than a fresh-faced reformer unfairly maligned by “right-wing critics.”

This is gaslighting, pure and simple. If Mamdani were a Republican running around with the Proud Boys or the NRA, the Times would spare no ink in plastering the label all over him. But because he’s part of the DSA, suddenly labels don’t matter, context doesn’t matter, and words like “socialist” are too scary for public consumption. The strategy is clear: normalize socialism by pretending it isn’t socialism.

Here’s what’s really at stake. New York has already endured disastrous years under “progressive” policies: cashless bail, endless tax hikes, skyrocketing crime, collapsing public services, and an exodus of middle-class families. Layer on top of that Mamdani’s DSA wish list—disbanding the NYPD, legalizing drugs, letting minors make irreversible decisions without parental involvement, government-run grocery stores—and you’re talking about the systematic destruction of the world’s greatest city.

This isn’t “helping the poor.” It’s trapping them in a cycle of chaos, dependency, and despair. It isn’t “equity.” It’s the elimination of accountability, safety, and common sense. The New York Times can play word games all day long. But you don’t have to be a policy expert to see where this train is headed. It’s not toward progress. It’s toward ruin.

Zohran Mamdani is a socialist. Full stop. His platform is socialist. His party affiliation is socialist. His policy prescriptions are socialist. The only people pretending otherwise are the ones at the New York Times—who are less interested in telling the truth than in running public relations for the radical left.

So let’s end the charade. Let’s call it what it is. And let’s remember: the same Times that told you Mamdani isn’t a socialist once told you Andrew Cuomo was the gold standard of governance and that Joe Biden’s economy was “booming.”

New Yorkers deserve better than lies dressed up as journalism. And America deserves better than socialism in disguise.

Editor’s Note: Zohran Mamdani is an avowed Democratic Socialist and has a real chance to become the next mayor of New York City.

Help us continue to report on his radical communist views and expose the Democrats who support him. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.