JONAH GOLDBERG: Everyone is campaigning on ‘affordability’ that no one can deliver

Jonah Goldberg Tribune Content Agency August 22, 2026 - 9:00 pm Remember “affordability” mania? The time was 2025. A young, charismatic democratic socialist candidate for New York City mayor named Zohran Mamdani became a viral sensation. His secret? “Affordability.” Ask him about almost anything and he’d turn the conversation to affordability. When a reporter asked Mamdani to respond to President Donald Trump’s claim that he was the better-looking politician, Mamdani responded, “My focus is on the cost-of-living crisis, bro.” Queried about whether Hamas, the terrorist organization, should disarm, he began with “I believe that any future here in New York City is one that we have to make sure that’s affordable for all.” Mamdani won the election, and pretty much everyone agreed that “affordab