Mamdani and Trump Getting Chummy Is America's 'Horseshoe Theory' Nightmare
When the so-called "communist lunatic" and the so-called "fascist" find common ground, it means the country needs an intervention.
In the run-up to New York City's mayoral election, Donald Trump let loose with one of his signature, ill-tempered social-media rants, where he complained that Democrats "have crossed the line" by nominating Zohran Mamdani. Trump described him as "a 100% Communist Lunatic. We've had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous."
Although I wish Trump would at least occasionally act presidential, I chuckled at this one. Democratic leaders actually were troubled by Mamdani's rise (although their preference for a disgraced former governor was equally dismaying), but Democratic voters handed Mamdani a solid victory despite his radical positions. Some of those include rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, a massive minimum-wage hike, government-financed housing projects and free public transit.
So it was much to my surprise—and virtually everyone else's—that Trump invited the mayor-elect to the White House. It was even more surprising that the confab turned into a kumbaya session, with the two men smiling and glad-handing. After the meeting Trump's tone toward the "communist lunatic" softened, as the president said, "It was a Great Honor meeting Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor of New York City!" The happy talk was amazing.
The reactions were predictable, but entertaining. Some lefties were outraged, with a socialist web site already dismissing Mamdani as just another capitalist politician. There's a reported break between progressive camps, with the latest fracas revolving over support—or lack thereof—for a primary challenge to Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries. I suppose the Trump meeting reinforces Mamdani's role as a member of the pragmatic lunatic left.
Meanwhile, Democratic strategist Michael LaRosa said on Fox & Friends Weekend, "Seeing those guys yuck it up, talk about housing, where they agree on housing, where they agree on crime, exchanging compliments over social media, Mamdani talking about how they share some of the same voter coalition. I, as a moderate common-sense Democrat, loved it." That group of Democrats sees Mamdani as having scored a political victory by charming the president.
The cognitive dissonance on the right was equally hilarious. "I had to drink a bottle of ginger ale today after seeing Mamdani in the Oval Office because it physically nauseates me seeing Islamic jihadists infiltrate our government and continue to get a pass to promote Islamic jihad and anti-American values with zero push back," posted MAGA activist Laura Loomer. But other Trump supporters praised the president's commitment to New York City and his four-level chess abilities or whatever.
"What this episode truly reveals is that Donald Trump believes political rhetoric to be as real as professional wrestling, a work of kayfabe," wrote Jeffrey Blehar in a sensible take at National Review. There's some truth there, given the president's knack for theatrics. But take a look at the president's meeting with Vladimir Zelensky, where he tried to humiliate him. The president continues to blame the Ukrainian president for having the audacity to have gotten his country invaded.
Then there's Trump's recent White House meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It was extraordinarily warm, with Trump giving the prince a pass on Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's horrifying death and dismemberment at the Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018 and referring to it in the passive voice: "things happen." Trump isn't chummy with everyone who visits—only with those with whom he shares a certain affinity.
Trump gave the obvious answer to why he and Mamdani hit it off during their meeting: "[W]e agree on a lot more than I would have thought." Go back to LaRosa's comments, too. The two men talked about affordability and the bizarre overlap in their voter coalition. Many of their specific policies differ, of course, but they are both advocates for big-government solutions. They both seek centralized power to issue edicts. They both are authoritarians who appeal to a sense of grievance. They both disdain limits on their powers.
The Mamdani-Trump meeting was the embodiment of what I've long predicted and feared. The populist right swept away conservatives' traditional belief in limited government and market-based reform—and replaced it with a cultural agenda fueled by anger and dependent on the wiles of a Dear Leader. It's been successfully politically (although not economically and it's dangerous to the health of our democracy). It was only a matter of time before Democrats gave up on their flaccid approach and embraced left-wing populism in return.
This is the dictionary definition of the Horseshoe Theory, where extremes on the right and left are not divided at the far ends of a long line but at the ends of a horseshoe. Populists on both sides believe in an activist government, although they have different motivations. As fundamentally collectivist, both movements are remarkably similar.
So here we are, where the so-called "communist lunatic" and the so-called "fascist" find common ground. We're close to the point where our country needs an intervention.
This column was first published in The Orange County Register.
