Bill Kristol Backs Mamdani, and Goldberg is SURPRISED?

I’ve always had a soft spot for Jonah Goldberg, and to be honest, I still do. I thought Liberal Fascism was a great book—not Aristotle or Plato great, but a well-thought-out and researched analysis of the genuinely fascist strain in leftist thought. It does a great job of explaining what fascism actually is (it’s not a general-purpose insult, but an actual political ideology with a coherent meaning that overlaps with much of leftist thought), and why it is inaccurate to describe American conservatism as remotely similar to it. 

He is also one of the few Never Trump conservatives who hasn’t just become a liberal mouthpiece. Not that I agree with him about most of his critiques of Trump and MAGA, but unlike many NeverTrumpers I still recognize the old Jonah in the current version. 

So imagine my surprise when he posted this:

I like Bill and consider him a friend. But I just have no idea why — even given all his other changed positions etc. — he would say he’d vote for Mamdani. I can’t think of a single angle where it makes sense as a strategic or tactical or messaging thing and I don’t see a reason…

— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) October 30, 2025

I like Bill and consider him a friend. But I just have no idea why — even given all his other changed positions etc. — he would say he’d vote for Mamdani. I can’t think of a single angle where it makes sense as a strategic or tactical or messaging thing and I don’t see a reason on the merits given the things I’m pretty sure he still believes. It’s just strange. Particularly given that he doesn’t have to have an opinion since he doesn’t live there.

Really, Jonah? It’s actually pretty simple to understand why Bill Kristol is supporting Mamdani, and it boils down to this: Donald Trump has critiqued Mamdani; therefore, Kristol must be on the other side. Kristol’s brand has moved on from “bomb everything” to “destroy Donald Trump.” It is from this brand that he has built his current career. 

Here’s what Kristol said:

Bill Kristol: I think a lot of the younger Democrats are quite impressive. Uh, I wish—

Dhriti Jagadish: —Any names [in Democratic politics] stand out to you?

Bill Kristol: Yeah, well, I’d say both. I live in Virginia. So, Abigail Spanberger, who I think will win in November, is really excellent. It might be Sherrill, actually, in New Jersey, excellent. And so, part of my core praise for Mamdani has been that, you know what, if we elect three Democrats who win in November—the three big races, really—and it’s Spanberger or Sherrill and Mamdani? That’s okay.

You know, New York City gets to have a left-wing mayor. It’s not the first time, and it’s different from the rest of the country. I wish they were a little less, you know, tolerant of certain things—on Israel, and so, against Israel and all that. But some of the economic stuff, I think, is just silly, but I don’t think it’s going to matter.

Shiv Parihar: Do you think you would vote for him [Mamdani] if you were voting in New York? 

Bill Kristol: You know, I think so. I really can’t think—the idea of going back to Cuomo is just, I think, ridiculous. I think if it had been the first round, I would’ve voted for someone else and maybe wouldn’t have even ranked Mamdani and would’ve had other people who were more centrist, liberal types. 

Kristol is still portrayed by Pravda as a principled conservative, because it is convenient to have a “principled conservative” trash Donald Trump and every Republican on earth. Kristol portrays himself that way, as if it is was not he who left the party, but rather the party left him behind when it went full-on fascist or something. 

But…Abigail Spanberger? She of transing the kids and endorsing Jay Jones? Mikie Sherill? Zohran Mamdani?

Uh, dude, those are not exactly principled conservatives. Mamdani is a communist. 

I don’t know if Jonah is genuinely surprised that Bill has turned out to be what people far less charitable than I would call a grifter in the Lincoln Project mold, or whether he has simply been blinded by his hatred of all things MAGA and missed the fact that his old conservative buddies are endorsing every insane and worthless Democrat as revenge for being on the losing end of an intra-party battle. 

Either way, nobody outside the Never Trump circle is surprised by Kristol’s endorsement of Mamdani. We live in a world where David French, who used to be pro-life, is endorsing abortion based on bizarrely argued “Christian conservative” principles. In other words, Never Trump doesn’t mean opposing Trump because he is a populist conservative instead of a Reagan conservative; it means opposing Trump and everything remotely associated with him. 

I think it is too late to hope that anybody who has TDS will wake up and evaluate Trump as a normal politician, agreeing with some things and disagreeing with others. There is no room for rationality when it comes to Trump. 

But perhaps some people who left the Republican Party because Trump repelled them might look around and see that many of the people with whom they are associated should be at least as repellent to them as Donald Trump is. 

If your compatriots are endorsing actual communists, can you still claim they are conservatives? And if so, have you had your head examined yet?

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.