Liberal comedian and longtime HBO host Bill Maher has issued a stark warning to Democrats: if far-left candidate Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor of New York City this November, it could all but guarantee a Republican victory in the 2028 presidential election.

On the July 28 episode of his “Club Random” podcast, Maher sounded the alarm during a discussion with progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen.

“New York is New York,” Maher said. “It’s the media capital, the financial capital — it is a bellwether like no other city is in this country. So don’t tell me that who the mayor of New York is doesn’t matter.”

When Cohen attempted to downplay Mamdani’s potential influence as mayor, Maher pushed back forcefully.

“He definitely has the power and influence to elect J.D. Vance, or whoever is the Republican candidate next time,” Maher said. “It is a walking commercial for the Republican Party, nationally.”

Maher didn’t hold back when slamming the rising tide of self-identified Democratic Socialists gaining power in America’s largest city.

“When you let the Democrat socialists — and now they’re actually calling themselves socialists — when you let them take over a major American city, this is what you get: the state-run grocery stores, which worked so well in Cuba, and the Soviet Union, and Venezuela — just bad ideas, and again, this ugly streak, ugly streak of anti-Semitism.”

His critique sharpened later that week on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, where he took aim at Mamdani’s ideological roots.

“Some of the things he says, you know he quotes Marxists, ‘Each according to their need.’ I mean, that’s straight up Communism.”

Joining Maher on the panel was left-leaning columnist James Kirchick, who issued a chilling indictment of Mamdani’s rhetoric.

“He defends the expression ‘globalize the intifada,’ which explicitly means — and I don’t wanna hear anyone deny this — it means kill Jews whenever and wherever you can find them,” Kirchick said.

Despite these warning signs, Mamdani is polling surprisingly well — even among Jewish voters. A July poll conducted by Zenith Research and Public Progress Solutions revealed 43% of Jewish voters in New York City said they would vote for Mamdani. Support among younger Jewish voters (ages 18 to 44) was even higher at 67%, according to The Times of Israel.

For comparison, disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo drew just 26%, and current Mayor Eric Adams managed a mere 15% among Jewish voters.

The numbers are as alarming as they are revealing. A candidate quoting Marx, defending extremist slogans, and embracing failed socialist models abroad is somehow gaining traction in America’s most iconic city. And as Maher warned, that kind of political tone-deafness could have ripple effects that extend far beyond New York’s five boroughs.

The 2028 White House may well be decided by how voters respond to socialism’s creep into the heart of the Democratic Party.