The Rest Is Politics

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549. Mamdani’s Wrecking Ball and the Rise of Anti-Migrant Vigilantes

Explore episode Jul 1, 2026
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Mamdani's Wrecking Ball: How He Toppled the Democratic Establishment

549. Mamdani’s Wrecking Ball and the Rise of Anti-Migrant V… · Jul 1, 2026 News

Mamdani backed three candidates against sitting Democratic incumbents and won all three, including a 30-point demolition of AIPAC-backed Dan Goldman and a 33-year-old defeating a five-term congressman. He did it across wildly different districts — a $120k median-income area and a $52k one — proving this isn't a fluke of geography.

Where this was said

Welcome and Episode Agenda

At 4:07 · chapter starts 3:20

Alastair Campbell welcomes listeners to The Rest Is Politics Question Time and briefly introduces the topics ahead: Mamdani and the future of the Democrats, Australia's new party, South Africa's anti-migrant crisis, and the World Cup. The key constitutional caveat is introduced at the outset: Mamdani cannot run for the US presidency because he was born in Uganda. This sets up the episode's central tension — a figure already operating as a national political force, constrained by birthplace, who must work through others to reshape American politics.

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