Mamdani’s Appointment of Jessica Tisch Was a Clear Olive Branch to the Ruling Class. It Won’t Be the Last.
What is one to make of Mamdani’s bizarre meeting with the President, where the subject of fascism was discussed so lightly? Some have argued that this meeting was a tactical victory for Mamdani, a show of both pragmatism and strategic brilliance that eroded his opponent’s defenses. Still the question remains: what was said behind closed doors that could make Donald Trump, the thuggish custodian of America’s ruling class, appear so charmed by a rising socialist?
At the press conference that followed their half-hour meeting, they offered some potentially revealing words:
TRUMP: And he just retained a great police commissioner, I believe, right?
MAMDANI: Yes, we did. Commissioner Tisch.
TRUMP: If the newspapers are correct?
MAMDANI: That one they’re correct about.
TRUMP: He, uh, he retained, I think somebody that is a good friend of some people in my family, of Ivanka, and they say she’s really good, really competent and he just retained her. So that’s a good sign.
Mamdani’s team had announced his intention to retain Jessica Tisch as Police Commissioner before the general election was held, and he has publicly reaffirmed this pledge several times over the following days. Tisch was appointed to her post last December by the corrupt and clownish Eric Adams. She is an heiress of the billionaire Tisch family, which spent over $1.2 million to prevent Mamdani’s election. It is therefore hard to doubt the president’s claim that the Tisches and the Trumps, two enormously wealthy real estate families, enjoy close ties of friendship. With an estimated family fortune of $10 billion, the Tisches own the Loews Corporation, which owns and operates the Loews Regency Hotel, a favorite of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Considering Mamdani achieved over a million votes by embracing the rhetoric of sweeping structural change, it is puzzling that he would retain such a crucial appointee of a hated outgoing administration, especially given Adams’ heavy-handedness in policing matters and friendliness towards President Trump.
The Tisches are fervent Zionists who view Mamdani’s support for Palestinian rights as dangerously antisemitic. Tisch’s brother recently referred to Mamdani as an ‘enemy’ of Jewish people at a charity dinner. Tisch herself recently spoke at a benefit for the Anti-Defamation League. In recent years the ADL has waved away instances of genuine antisemitism while indicating that its greatest concern is denouncing any criticism of the Israeli government and its genocidal war in Gaza as anti-Jewish. At this event, Tisch intentionally conflated anti-genocide protests in New York with antisemitism, while describing campus protests as “despicable” displays of intolerance and Jew-hatred. Tisch also gushed with praise for ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt, who has falsely denounced Mamdani as an antisemite and to this day maintains a vicious smear campaign against the Mayor-elect.
Since his election, Mamdani has defended his decision to retain Tisch, referring to her as a “change agent” who has helped root out corruption and inefficiency within the NYPD. Setting aside this one-sided portrayal of her tenure, one must ask: could Mamdani not have appointed a commissioner with a less troubling background, and with views that are not wildly out of step with the Democratic party’s base? There is no reason to believe that Tisch is the only qualified candidate for this job, or that a billionaire Zionist will act in a way that is at all representative of Mamdani’s base.
In fact, what is perhaps most disturbing about the decision, and Mamdani’s obstinance, is that it comes off as a slap in the face to wide swaths of his supporters. As Mehdi Hasan correctly noted in his interview with Mamdani, Tisch’s policies threaten some of New York’s most vulnerable residents, particularly Muslims, student protestors, and immigrants. These groups include many voters who aggressively organized and canvassed for Mamdani, who are sick of the brutality and mass surveillance they faced from the NYPD during Eric Adams’ administration. How can one hope for a truly progressive mayorship by building bridges with the appointee of a reactionary one?
In one especially memorable portion of his victory speech, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani made the following statement: “If there is any way to terrify a despot,” he said of President Donald Trump, “it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.” To the hostile ruling class that opposes him, and to the pearl-clutching Democratic party stalwarts who refused to endorse him, this was not mere empty rhetoric: Trump, like the rest of the billionaire class that controls most of the planet’s wealth and resources, is a symptom of a highly militarized, financialized capitalist society. They naturally fear the overthrow of the conditions of this society and throw millions of dollars at any threat to them that arises. However, much to their relief, and much to the concern of the rest of us, there appears to be a growing likelihood that Mamdani’s words are in fact just empty rhetoric.
There were multiple instances after Mamdani’s primary victory last summer when he backtracked on his principled criticism of Israel. This appeasement has only appeared to alienate his supporters while his opponents attacked him more vigorously than ever. If these concessions were limited to his foreign policy, they could perhaps be tolerated: however, his recent cozying up to right-wing Democrats and real estate lobbyists suggests a disturbing trend. Perhaps Mamdani wants to convince his opponents, Trump included, that beneath the fiery rhetoric he is highly susceptible to the influence of establishment figures. These underhanded dealings bring to mind Joe Biden’s infamous remark to his donors: “Nothing will fundamentally change.” It is too soon to tell if Mamdani’s mayorship will be defined by capitulation to the status quo; however, it’s not too soon to be deeply concerned about his current trajectory.