New York City just inaugurated its first openly socialist mayor in history.
Zohran Mamdani took the oath of office from Bernie Sanders himself and promised to "govern as a democratic socialist" and immediately pushed his "tax the rich" agenda.
And Byron Donalds just explained in two devastating words why Mamdani's entire economic plan is doomed to fail.
Donalds drops reality bomb on socialist fantasy
Donalds appeared on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle and didn't hold back when asked about Mamdani's plan to jack up taxes on New York's wealthy residents.
"Tax the rich? I got a news flash. The rich will leave, because they can, because they have escape velocity," Donalds said.¹
https://twitter.com/ByronDonalds/status/2007253149174902823?s=20
That phrase – "escape velocity" – captures what Socialist Democrats refuse to admit.
Wealthy people aren't trapped in New York City waiting for Mamdani to confiscate their money.
They have options, resources, and the ability to pack up and move to Florida, Texas, or any other state that won't punish success.
"If you try to take their money from them, they're not going to sit around and wait for you to come around with a grocery cart and take their money," Donalds explained. "They're going to leave. And frankly, they should."¹
The Florida Congressman wasn't just speculating.
He pointed out that New York City operates on a budget comparable to the entire state of Florida – except Florida has 23.5 million residents while NYC has only 8.5 million.
"This is how insane they are," Donalds said. "He wants to continue to add to it. It's not going to work."²
Mamdani's entire governing philosophy depends on squeezing more money out of people who already pay 40% of the city's income tax revenue despite making up only 1% of the population.³
What happens when those people decide they've had enough?
Sanders and Mamdani's socialist coronation
The inauguration ceremony itself was a socialist love fest that would make Marx proud.
Thousands gathered in freezing temperatures outside City Hall as Sanders administered the oath of office to his ideological heir.
"I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist," Mamdani declared. "I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical."⁴
The crowd chanted "tax the rich" while Sanders praised what he called "the greatest political upset in modern history."⁴
https://twitter.com/davebrownlive/status/2006851018060124397?s=20
Mamdani promised to deliver free buses, freeze rents on rent-stabilized apartments, provide universal childcare, and create city-owned grocery stores – all paid for by hiking taxes on wealthy New Yorkers.⁴
He wants to raise the city's income tax on top earners from 3.9% to 5.9%.
Combined with New York State's 10.9% rate, that would give New York City the highest tax burden in the nation at nearly 17%.⁵
"We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism," Mamdani said.⁴
Translation: Your money isn't yours anymore – it belongs to the collective.
The math doesn't work
Donalds explained the fundamental problem with Mamdani's agenda that every Socialist Democrat refuses to acknowledge.
"This man has wrote a lot of checks that he simply cannot cash," Donalds said. "Because he's not going to create an economic engine that's going to create value and wealth where he can even deliver these programs or deliver them consistently over time."²
The Mamdani campaign estimated their tax increases would raise $9 billion annually – $5 billion from corporate taxes and $4 billion from the millionaire tax.⁵
https://twitter.com/ThomasMHern/status/1985571149053395076?s=20
But those projections assume wealthy New Yorkers will just sit there and take it.
History says otherwise.
Real estate data already shows Manhattan luxury home sales jumped 25% in the two months after Mamdani's election, with 176 properties priced at $4 million or more going into contract.⁶
Meanwhile in Miami, year-over-year housing prices dipped for the first time since 2011.⁶
The wealthy are already making their exit plans.
"It destroys wealth. It destroys individualism. That is not what America is about," Donalds said of the "tax the rich" agenda.¹
Donalds also warned that voters didn't necessarily embrace socialism when they elected Mamdani.
Many backed him because they heard an "affordability message" while his opponents "really had no message."²
"People in our country, what they're looking for is relief overall," Donalds explained. "They want to have an ability to make money, to be able to put a roof over their head, put food on the table, buy a home, raise their families."²
Those voters are about to learn that socialism delivers the opposite of relief.
Mamdani faces massive structural roadblocks even if he somehow keeps New York's wealthy from fleeing.
Governor Kathy Hochul controls taxation authority for the city and must approve any increases.
She already rejected higher taxes on the wealthy in 2024.⁷
The New York State Constitution requires the city to balance its budget annually and caps borrowing based on property values.⁷
Mamdani's promised programs would cost far more than his tax increases could generate – assuming those tax increases don't trigger exactly the exodus Donalds predicted.
The Socialist Democrats running New York City are about to learn what Margaret Thatcher warned decades ago: eventually you run out of other people's money.
Especially when those people have "escape velocity" and the means to use it.
¹ Conrad Dias, "Byron Donalds slams Mamdani, Bernie Sanders' 'tax the rich' policy: 'It destroys wealth,'" MEAWW, January 4, 2026.
² Mariane Angela, "Byron Donalds Narrows Down Key Reason Why Mamdani Will Fail As Mayor," The Daily Caller, January 2, 2026.
³ Max Rivlin-Nadler, "Mamdani wants to change the tax code. Here's what that could look like," Gothamist, January 2, 2026.
⁴ Various, "Tax the Rich, Say Mamdani, Sanders, and NYC Inauguration Crowd," Common Dreams, January 1, 2026.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ "Conventional Wisdom: Mayor Zohran Mamdani Inauguration Edition," Newsweek, January 3, 2026.
⁷ Mariane Angela, The Daily Caller, January 2, 2026.
