Lucas: Healey, Wu aren’t joining Trump’s buddy list
In a recent article, the contrast between the political strategies of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani highlights a significant divide in how progressive leaders approach governance. While Healey and Wu, both progressive Democrats, have chosen to stand firmly against former President Donald Trump, even at the cost of potential benefits for their constituents, Mamdani has taken a different route. Despite his campaign rhetoric branding Trump as a “fascist” and “despot,” Mamdani recently reached out to the former president for assistance in addressing the pressing issues facing New York City. This strategic pivot underscores a pragmatic approach to governance that prioritizes policy over partisan politics.
Mamdani’s decision to engage with Trump is particularly noteworthy given the current political climate in Massachusetts, where Democrats dominate and often resort to anti-Trump rhetoric to appease their bases. In contrast, Mamdani’s willingness to set aside ideological differences for the sake of his city’s welfare resulted in a productive meeting with Trump, where they discussed mutual goals, such as improving affordability in New York. This move has drawn criticism from some within his party, who view any collaboration with Trump as a betrayal. However, Mamdani’s approach exemplifies a bold leadership style that prioritizes actionable solutions over political posturing, suggesting that other progressive leaders, including Healey and Wu, could benefit from adopting a similar mindset.
The implications of Mamdani’s strategy extend beyond New York City. His willingness to collaborate with a figure as polarizing as Trump demonstrates a potential path forward for leaders who find themselves at an impasse with the federal government. By focusing on common ground and the shared goal of improving urban life, Mamdani has positioned himself as a pragmatic leader willing to put the needs of his constituents first. This raises important questions about the future of progressive politics in Massachusetts and beyond: Will leaders like Healey and Wu continue to prioritize political ideology over practical governance, or will they recognize the value of collaboration in achieving meaningful change for their communities? As Mamdani’s approach gains attention, it may serve as a catalyst for a broader reevaluation of how progressives can effectively navigate the complexities of modern governance.
That could have been Maura Healey or Michelle Wu standing beside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office the other day.
All Governor Healey and Boston Mayor Wu had to do was pick up the phone, call the White House and ask for an appointment the way Zohran Mamdani did.
Trump meets with everyone, including war criminals like Vladimir Putin.
But they won’t. The pair of Democrat progressives would rather “stand up” to Trump — and appease their left-wing base — than work with him to benefit their larger constituencies, meaning the city and the state.
Wu, in fact, arrogantly insists that she has no interest in a “bromance” with Trump.
In one-party Democratic Massachusetts, politics beats policy every time. And the politics call for Democratic office holders to hurl hate bombs against Trump no matter the consequences.
What will they do when Trump is gone?
Mamdani, the brash 34-year-old mayor-elect of New York City, and a Democratic Socialist to boot, threw the same hate bombs at Trump in his campaign for mayor.
He called Trump everything from a fascist to a despot.
“We will put an end to the culture of corruption that has allowed billionaires like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks,” Mamdani said in his belligerent victory speech.
Trump, not to be outdone in the insult department, called Mamdani, among other things, “a nut job” and a “lunatic” communist. He would have labeled him “Moscow Mamdani” had he thought of it.
But a funny thing happened that changed everything.
Mamdani was elected.
He then realized that he needed help to run the biggest city in the country and keep people safe.
So, after brutally attacking the New York police, he first asked Jessica Tisch, the effective law-and-order police commissioner, to stay on the job and promised to keep the number of cops at their present level.
Then Mamdani realized that he needed help to pay for all the free stuff he, like a true socialist, promised, things like free day care, free buses, city-run grocery stores, and so on.
But, instead of reaching out to other Democratic Socialists, like Sen. Bernie Sanders or Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for instance, who offer nothing but socialist platitudes, he reached out to Republican President Donald Trump, the capitalist who can do things for him and for New York.
It was a shrewd maneuver on his part, and for Trump as well. Three months ago, nobody knew who Mamdani was, and here he was in the White House meeting with the most powerful man in the world.
The socialist had come hat in hand asking the capitalist for help.
The key to the success of the meeting was that the pair discussed what they could agree on — helping New York on affordability issues — while ignoring what they differed on, like ICE rounding up criminal illegal immigrants, law and order, Israel, protecting Jews in New York, and Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the Intifada.
While Mamdani stood by a seated Trump, like pupil and teacher, Trump said, “Some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have.”
“We’re going to be helping him to make everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York,” Trump said.
While Mamdani faces criticism from militant Trump-hating socialists for cozying up to Trump, it was a bold move on his part. Mamdani put the policy of helping New York over the politics of hating Trump.
Others should follow suit.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com.
Mayor Michelle Wu, seen here as she arrived with this year’s Christmas tree from Nova Scotia, has said “I’m not interested in a bromance with the federal regime.” (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald) .
