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Late-night host Bill Maher called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani a “straight up communist” and warned Democrats that they will “lose more elections” if they try to deny it.
On Friday’s episode of “Real Time,” Maher noted that “Democrats seem to be having this debate” over whether Mamdani is a socialist or a democratic socialist, and offered to end the debate for them once and for all.
“Let me settle it: He’s a straight up communist,” he declared.
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Late-night host Bill Maher on the set of “Real Time” on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Screenshot/HBO)
According to Maher, he knows this to be true by “reading between the lines” after one of the mayor’s advisors, Cea Weaver, said to “elect more communists.”
“Which is fine. It’s fine. It’s a belief system. He’s allowed to believe it, and people are allowed to vote for it,” Maher continued. “But if liberals deny it, like he’s just going through a goth phase, they’re going to lose more elections. This is not a communist country.”
The “Real Time” host lamented that when it comes to political ideology, “the pendulum never lands in the middle,” and voters are typically left to choose between two extremes.
“Really, the choices we get here are either the worst version of crony capitalism or communism, either a side deal for the Trump family every time he does business overseas, or the lady who says, ‘impoverish the white middle class,’” he said. “Oh yeah, there’s a great campaign slogan for you.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reads a newspaper on the subway on his way to City Hall in New York, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP Photo)
The “impoverish the white middle class” quote Maher referenced came from Weaver, who was named director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants on Jan. 1 through an executive order signed by Mamdani.
According to the Daily Mail, internet sleuths uncovered a trove of controversial tweets from Weaver’s now deleted X account, one in which she called to “impoverish the white middle class” and brand homeownership as “racist” and “failed policy.”
Additionally, the housing czar called to “seize private property” and even claimed that “homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy.”
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Maher has been consistent in his criticisms of Mamdani and democratic socialism, urging both voters and Democratic Party leaders to steer clear of the ideology.
In November, Maher tore into Mamdani and his ideology after his intense victory speech, warning Republicans would use it to their advantage.
Bill Maher visits SiriusXM Studios on May 20, 2024, in New York City. Then-Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani participates in the second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, on October 22, 2025. (Noam Galai/Getty Images; HIROKO MASUIKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“Democrats must recognize that Zohran Mamdani is the future of the party. Unfortunately, it’s the Republican Party. Get it?” Maher joked. “And if you missed his victory speech in last week’s mayoral election in New York, don’t worry. You’ll see it in every attack ad for the next two years.”
While Maher admitted that Mamdani “seems like a nice guy,” he offered a warning about the Democratic Party’s increasing appetite for democratic socialist candidates. Maher urged that before the “whole left side of the country catches socialism fever,” to take some advice from another “big winner” from last week’s special elections.
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“… Virginia Governor Elect Abigail Spanberger, who before the ‘24 election said things like, ’If the party didn’t shift to the center, we will get torn apart.’ And, ‘We need to never use the word socialist or socialism ever again,’” Maher recalled. “Well, she was right, but they didn’t listen. Typical, am I right, ladies?”
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
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