Comedian Bill Maher suggested on his HBO show that New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, represents the future of the Republican Party rather than the Democrats. He argued that Mamdani's policies could fuel Republican gains by alienating moderate voters. Maher highlighted historical failures of socialism to underscore his point.
On November 15, 2025, during his HBO show, Bill Maher introduced a segment titled 'New rule,' stating, “Democrats must recognize that Zohran Mamdani is the future of the party — unfortunately, it’s the Republican Party.” The comment drew initial uncomfortable laughter from the audience, which grew after Maher explained the joke.
Maher referenced Mamdani's recent victory in New York City's mayoral election, noting that the Democratic socialist's victory speech from the previous week would likely appear in Republican attack ads for the next two years. He clarified he had no personal issues with Mamdani but criticized the Democratic Party's shift toward socialism, saying it wouldn't succeed in the United States.
To support his view, Maher cited Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger's pre-2024 election warnings: “If the party didn’t shift to the center, we will get f***ing torn apart,” and “We need to never use the word socialist or socialism ever again.” He lamented that Democrats ignored this advice.
Maher addressed younger generations' disillusionment with capitalism, joking they are “quiet-quitting capitalism and texting socialism that they’re ‘down to f***.’” However, he asserted socialism “just doesn’t work and has never worked,” pointing to historical experiments with high death tolls and examples like Venezuela, where wealthy nations descended into chaos and poverty.
“If you think New York can somehow reinvent this wheel, you’re in for a rude awokening,” Maher warned, comparing democratic socialism to a misleading dating profile that fails in reality.