JD Vance Takes A Slimy U-Turn On Zohran Mamdani After Trump Fawns Over The NYC Mayor

When NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani had some feisty words for Donald Trump after his election win, most people expected the controversial president and his cronies to fight back. So, it came as a surprise when Trump had plenty of praise for Mamdani after their meeting last month. It is, perhaps, less of a surprise that Trump's positive opinion of Mamdani has caused JD Vance to change his tune.

One of Vance's biggest defining traits is that he seemingly has no defining traits. He often seems to mold to whatever opinion or stance he thinks will serve him best at any given moment — most notably his trajectory from an outspoken anti-MAGA past to being Trump's vice president. Now, he's apparently having another convenient change of heart. Before Mamdani was elected as New York City's mayor, Vance's stance on him was what we might have expected. 

In August, Vance appeared on Fox News' "The Will Cain Show" and spoke about Mamdani, asking, "Is this a man who feels gratitude for the United States of America? ... It would be nice for him to occasionally show a sense of gratitude instead of just attacking the U.S. for all of its problems." These days, it's basically a requirement that Vance sides with Trump, so in keeping with his love of flip-flopping, he's changed his stance on Mamdani from ungrateful America-hater to something more aligned with Trump's fawning. Now, Vance is calling Mamdani "smart," per NBC News.

Zohran Mamdani is no longer a mayoral hopeful whose views are the antithesis of MAGA. Now, he is the mayor-elect of the most highly populated U.S. city, who beat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a landslide. Mamdani has become a sobering warning to MAGA and the Trump administration, and Donald Trump's unpredictable response has been to embrace him. 

Following Trump's lead, Vance called Mamdani "fascinating" in a December 4 interview with NBC News. "Obviously, I'm not a communist, and I think he is," Vance was sure to note, adding, "But the fact that he focuses so aggressively on the affordability question in New York City ... is smart, and he's at least listening to people." According to Vance, "Most politicians ... don't even listen to people."

It wouldn't be such a bad idea for Vance to take his own advice here and "listen to people." His own approval rating has sunk since he became the VP. And this may be yet another layer to Vance's shiny new opinion about Mamdani. After Trump's meeting with Mamdani last month, Fox News' Brian Kilmeade joked, "I think JD Vance is jealous. I think the president wants to use him as a running mate," per X (formerly Twitter). And other X users agreed. So, for Vance, there may be even more bootlicking in order.