Jamie Dimon Reaches out to Zohran Mamdani. Watch Out.

Source: New York Times  Zohran Mamdani met influential New Yorkers last week at a breakfast hosted by the Association for a Better New York. One real estate developer called him “personable.”Credit...Vincent Alban/The New York Times

Richard Mellor

Afscme Local 444, retired

HEO/GED

11-10-25

Some folks think that raising doubts about New York City’s mayor elect, Zohran Mamdani’s ability to produce the goods, or to point out what some of us think are warning signs that could lead to that, are premature and being unnecessarily negative. Myself and others have pointed out some red flags, not out of any effort to undermine Mamdani or belittle his tremendous victory in the face of the most vicious inscrutable opponents; but there is a lot at stake here. 

 

While I think Mamdani’s victory is somewhat different given the massive support and a working class base that is drawn to his relatively mild reforms, we have felt this sort of excitement before only to have our hopes dashed. Bernie Sanders had more than one opportunity to open the door to a new pathway for the US working class electorally and a possible break from the Democratic Party. There was tremendous excitement and hope when Alexandria Ocasio Cortez defeated the entrenched Democratic Party machine candidate in the 2018 Congressional elections and look where she is now; she is a rising star in the party and a possible presidential contender. What happened to the “Squad”? Nothing.

 

So how Mamdani handles the coming war with the real estate moguls, Wall Street bankers and others that actually run New York City will determine whether this extraordinary achievement accomplishes at least some of his policies and/or leads to a wider offensive against capital both electorally and among the wider working class; both organized and unorganized workers. New York City is a big union town.

 

We have a lot to lose here if he ends up like Sanders and AOC for example and I think Ken Klippenstein’s recent criticism of his keeping New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch that I posted to this blog, is valid and also respectfully offered. It is important that those of us who are politically active in any way our personal resources allow, make sure we keep tabs on these developments.

 

I read in the NY Times That Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase has “reached out” to Mamdani, telling CNN that he is “willing to keep the lines of communication open.”

 

Dimon’s comments in the Times are important and very revealing. In July, he referred to Mamdani’s policies as, “the same ideological mush that means nothing in the real world."  This is definitely contrary to how working people in NYC sees them. Having been forced to accept Zohran Mamdani is the next mayor Dimon says at the prospect of further communication, “If I find it productive, I’ll continue to do it,”

 

Well we all know what “productive” means to folks like the head of JP Morgan, it means profits. Dimon goes on to say that “New York has to compete” and he’s clearly concerned Mamdani’s “inexperience” (as a venture capitalist, real estate billionaire or hedge fund manager) might  hinder capital accumulation and profits. He hopes the, “…mayor-elect will grow in to the job. In Dimon’s experience people in “big” jobs can grow in to the position but there are those for whom it becomes “all about them”. I am assuming Trump is his best example of that. Dimon hopes that, “Mr Mamdani was, ‘the good one’”

 

Dimon goes on to say that the issues and concerns that Mamdani raises are not a production of capitalism, they are simply, “bad policy”. Dimon is an ardent defender of capitalism and the free market as we can see; it’s been very good for him----he’s worth about $3 billion and, mark my words, he does not expect him and his friends to pay for Mamdani’s reforms and will go through hell and high water to see to it that they don’t.

 

What is being offered here in this reach out scenario is the hand of death. We know what Dimon is. We know what he wants. And as the Mayor of New York City, Mamdani should have meetings with these people. My personal view of these meetings though is he should have public meetings in the communities that support him to which the representatives of the Partnership For New York City, a consortium of the city’s major players and corporate heads could attend and the discussions public. Let the people he represents ask them questions.

 

In the closed-door meetings, Mamdani made quite an impression with those people who spent untold millions to defeat him and some described him, “……as eager to find common ground. He is, in other words, a talented politician.” NYT 10-13-2025.

 

Many disappointments in the past have led to the situation where politics and politicians in the US are seen as inherently corrupt. This false view is not really challenged in the mass media as the idea that politicians betray us (as union officials have) because human nature is naturally greedy is better than facing reality and the understanding that it is capitalist society that is the cause of the crises we face. Once we understand that and how the capitalist mode of production is one era in a historical journey then we can change it. 

 

Mamdani’s election is different to these other examples I give above as his program deals with the immediate needs of his base, (Bernie Sanders did that to a degree also but his efforts were negated through his refusal to break from the Democratic Party and build a mass based left alternative; which was undoubtedly possible at the time) but the stakes are high and joining political hands with AOC and Sanders is a dangerous game. 

 

It is hard to say what future holds but we do know there will be a national effort by the US ruling class, real estate, tech, banking etc to ensure their interests are not harmed and Mamdani turns out to be one of the “good ones”. 

 

The pressure from below will hopefully win out in that game and give Mamdani the support he will need to produce the goods. Hopefully, this exciting moment can lead to the beginnings of a mass movement of workers and youth that gains national traction and changes the balance of class forces in the US. Time will tell.