Yogi Berra famously said that it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.
Well, here are two easy predictions. First, Zohran Mamdani will be elected the next mayor of New York City. Second, Trump Republicans will label Mamdani a communist.
Their goal will be to make him the poster child for the 2026 midterm elections. To distract from Trump’s deeply unpopular bill cutting Medicaid, Republicans will insist that every Democratic candidate for the House and Senate go on the record about whether they support Mamdani.
My crystal ball offers one more vision of the political future: Former President Barack Obama will emerge from behind the curtains of retirement as a master political operator in support of congressional Democrats running in midterm elections — and of Mamdani’s run in New York City.
Search your memory, and the parallels between Obama and Mamdani are hard to ignore.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A young progressive Democrat with an unusual name comes out of nowhere, topples an old-line opponent and wins the nomination for high office. Remember Obama vs. Hillary Clinton in 2008? It is now 2025, and the new version is Mamdani vs. Andrew Cuomo in the race for New York mayor.
As the saying goes: History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes. Like Mamdani, Obama didn’t wait for his turn. At 47, he became the youngest elected president since John F. Kennedy, leapfrogging Clinton and an entire generation of establishment Democrats.
Now, at 64, with gray hair and unrivaled approval among Democrats across the nation, the former president has reached out to advise Mamdani as the 33-year-old campaigns to govern America’s largest city.
Mamdani said he was “honored” to take the call. The young state legislator said he agreed with the former president that under Trump, the nation’s politics are “characterized by a language of darkness.” They agreed, Mamdani said, on “the necessity of hope in how we speak and how we orient ourselves to the world.”
“The necessity of hope.” That’s a strikingly close match to Obama’s “audacity of hope,” the phrase that propelled the unknown Illinois state legislator on his rise to the U.S. Senate and the presidency.
But Obama wasn’t just an idealistic dreamer. He was a capable political operator. After losing an early race for Congress, he established himself in Illinois state politics. He rose above brutal political fights in Chicago and the distrust of older civil rights leaders.
The parallels between Mamdani and Obama are clear: Shocked by the upstart’s success, Wall Street titans, conservative media and Republicans try to stop him by embracing older Democrats, such as Cuomo.
And they are using the same attacks against Mamdani that they used against Obama nearly 20 years ago. They argue that he was born in Africa, not in America. They say he’s a socialist, maybe even a communist, who will destroy jobs and businesses with radical, unworkable ideas. They say he’s a product of campus radicals, that he’s too young and inexperienced to run a complex government, and — gasp — that he’s a community organizer.
Those libels did not stop Obama. And now the former president still appears to have some magic left in his lantern. Even as the Democratic Party brand is low in national approval, Obama remains a political standout. YouGov currently rates Obama as the most popular national Democrat, with 61 percent of Americans viewing him favorably — far ahead of former Vice President Kamala Harris at 52 percent.
In a hypothetical matchup against Trump, a July poll found Obama leading 52 percent to 41 percent. Obama’s support was particularly strong among Hispanic voters (73 percent) and Black voters (68 percent). Even among independents, Obama led Trump, 50 percent to 39 percent.
Speaking of which, with Trump and his allies like Steve Bannon openly musing about a third term, it might not be so far-fetched a hypothetical contest.
And when Texas Democrats battled Republican redistricting earlier this month, who did they turn to for affirmation? Obama.
“I want all of you to return feeling invigorated and knowing you’ve helped lead what is going to be a long struggle,” Obama told them. “It’s not going to be resolved right away. It’s going to require the American people realizing we cannot take our freedoms and democracy for granted. You’ve helped set the tone for that, and I’m grateful for it.”
And last week, Obama publicly backed California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s drive to counter Texas with gerrymandering in his state, to increase seats likely to be won by Democrats. Obama said gerrymandering “is not my preference.” But he warned, “If Democrats don’t respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in an inclusive, expansive democracy.”
Mamdani, too, needs coaching from Obama. Learn from the master, Zohran. He’s been there before.
For better or worse, Mamdani will be the face of the Democratic Party for the next 18 months. His discipline — and Democrats’ success — may hinge on listening to Obama’s advice born of experience.
Yes, Obama has earned his retirement after eight years of honorable service as president. But America is not done with him yet.
President Obama, your country needs you to mentor the next generation of leaders — starting with New York’s next mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Juan Williams is senior political analyst for Fox News Channel and a prize-winning civil rights historian. He is the author of the new book “New Prize for These Eyes: The Rise of America’s Second Civil Rights Movement.”
