Mamdani, Trump and the End of the Old Politics
Attention Beats Money.
This is so great, so insightful. But it is ALL about ‘memetics’ & ‘narrative’ and ‘vertical video performance’ and style. There is literally NOTHING about content or policy, apart from one line where they discount Mamdani’s inability to really do rent control but that’s it.
“This is not a new trick. When liberal elites feel threatened by a winning candidate whose politics could actually challenge capital, they seek to depoliticize the victory and attribute it to vibes, marketing savvy, and brand. It’s a containment strategy: Treat the insurgent’s style as admirable while ignoring — or quietly discrediting — their policy platform. That way, the establishment gets to appropriate the energy without having to endorse the demands.”
— Evelyn Quartz and David Sirota. “Zohran Mamdani’s Mandate Is A Democratic Earthquake”. The Lever. 24 June 2025.
https://www.levernews.com/zohran-mamdanis-mandate-is-a-democratic-earthquake/