NYC socialist mayor Mamdani disagrees with Reagan, touts city grocers
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Zohran Mamdani, the socialist mayor of New York City, is facing backlash for criticizing a famous quote by former President Ronald Reagan warning of the dangers of big government.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and New York’s first Muslim mayor, voiced his disagreement with the beloved conservative president as he opened the first of his long-promised city-run grocery stores in the Bronx.
“As I stand here this morning, I can’t help but think about the words of our 40th president, Ronald Reagan. He said the nine scariest words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help,'” he said. “Nice quote, but I disagree.”
Instead, Mamdani said: “I think another nine scary words are actually: ‘I work all day and I can’t support my family.'”
“We will use the power of government to lower prices and make it easier for New Yorkers to put food on the table,” he continued, adding: “When government understands that its purpose is to serve the working people it leaves behind, time and time again, it can make a difference in the most pressing struggles our city faces today.”
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New York City’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, reversed a famous quote from President Ronald Reagan and said his government-run grocery stores “will serve as physical evidence of our belief that government can be a force for good and that government can drive change that improves people’s lives.” (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Michael Evans/White House/Getty Images)
“It’s not just that the government needs to help, the government needs to help, and our government will help,” he continued.
Mamdani has promised to open affordable, state-run grocery stores across the city as a central tenet of his campaign. The first 20,000-square-foot store in the Bronx will open in 2027, it said Monday.
This is the second of five promised stores to be officially announced. Mamdani had previously announced an East Harlem location for the city’s 9,000-square-foot Manhattan flagship store, but that location will be built from scratch and is scheduled to open in 2029.
Mamdani said the Bronx location, along with the mixed-use development called “Peninsula,” will “serve as physical evidence of our belief that government can be a force for good and that government can drive change that improves people’s lives.”
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La Marqueta, a Latino marketplace in East Harlem, was chosen as the location for the first city-owned grocery store, announced by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on April 14, 2026. (Kendall Rodriguez/Newsday RM/Getty Images)
Although his announcement was applauded by the crowd, Mamdani’s criticism of Reagan drew scorn from conservatives online.
Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty posted on X: “What a COOL DISASTER! HE ACTUALLY thinks this will work.”
Daugherty accused the mayor of being a “TOTALLY UNBALANCED MARXIST” and told New Yorkers to “be prepared for utter failure.”
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet wrote in
Noting ongoing public transit woes amid widespread strikes in New York City, Jennifer Harrison, founder of the Victims Rights Reform Council, wrote of
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reacts as he is introduced during a union rally on Park Avenue in New York City on April 15, 2026. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)
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Meanwhile, the GOP’s official X account reposted the clip, labeling Mamdani a “communist.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani for comment.
