It was meant as a promise, but it sounded more like a warning.
Newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told cheering supporters on election night that “there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about.”
The self-described Democratic socialist’s words rippled far beyond the ballroom, sparking alarm among critics who saw in them not confidence, but control.
“I’m from the government and I’m here to help!” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shot back on X, invoking Ronald Reagan’s old caution that those were the nine most terrifying words in the English language.
Libby Emmons, editor-in-chief of The Post Millennial and Human Events, called Mamdani’s declaration “terrifying words.”
And Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) added his voice: “Of all the terrifying words uttered by Zoram [sic] Mamdani, these might be the most startling. This is now the Democratic Party.”
Mamdani’s line — confident, sweeping, absolute — has already become a symbol of something larger: a moment when faith in government begins to sound less like hope, and more like hubris.
Watch the clip below:
“I’m from the government and I’m here to help!” https://t.co/5xwV3tRTHW
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 5, 2025
Mamdani built his political brand on an unmistakably Marxist-tinged vision for New York — one that sees private profit as the problem and government ownership as the cure. His platform calls for city-run grocery stores, “permanently affordable” public housing, and a $30 minimum wage, all funded through aggressive tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy.
He’s also pushed for an end to bus fares and the creation of “public options” in markets usually run by private enterprise — from food to housing.


