Renowned Catholic bishop and theologian, Robert Barron, recently publicly criticized the newly inaugurated Mayor of New York, Mamdani, for his statement during the inauguration speech calling to “replace the cold individualism with the warmth of collectivism”. Barron bluntly remarked, “For God’s sake, spare me!”
Mamdani was sworn in at midnight on New Year’s Day, becoming the first Muslim mayor in the history of New York City and also declaring himself a socialist mayor. In his inauguration speech, he stated, “We will replace the cold individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” This statement quickly provoked strong backlash within conservative circles.
Bishop Barron later posted on the social platform X, expressing that the statement left him almost speechless. He wrote, “He (Mamdani) said he wants to replace the ‘cold individualism’ with ‘warmth of collectivism’. But various forms of collectivism caused at least a hundred million deaths in the last century.”
Barron further criticized, “For God’s sake, please stop glorifying the so-called ‘warmth of collectivism’. The socialist and communist regimes in the world today – such as in Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, etc., have been disastrous.”
He emphasized that Catholic doctrine has long been opposed to socialism and supported the market economy, which is based on human rights, freedom, and dignity, but often misconstrued by people like Mamdani as “harsh individualism.”
Barron is not the only vocal critic. Florida Governor DeSantis also expressed on X platform that the so-called warmth of collectivism often “relies on coercion and violence for its maintenance” and questioned, “How many deaths has the ideology of collectivism caused in the past hundred years?”
Texas Senator Cruz pointed out, “Once the communists take power, individual rights are almost entirely deprived and stripped away.”
Since taking office, Mamdani has signed several controversial executive orders, with three focusing on housing policies.
First, he announced the reinstatement of the “Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants” to handle tenant complaints and hold landlords accountable for unsafe living conditions.
Secondly, he established a task force called LIFT for land inventory to expedite housing development and identify suitable locations for housing construction by July 1.
The third executive order is the establishment of the “SPEED” task force (aiming for “streamlining procedures, accelerating equitable development”) to eliminate approval obstacles that slow down housing construction. Both of these task forces are supervised by Deputy Mayor of Housing and Planning, Lila Joseph.
Furthermore, Mamdani revoked all the executive orders issued by former Mayor Adams after federal bribery charges, including one prohibiting city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel and another directing the police to establish “no-protest buffer zones” around churches, synagogues, and mosques. These revocations sparked dissent among pro-Israel, right-leaning Jewish community leaders.
Republican New York State Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and others criticized Mamdani for “sympathizing with terrorism.” Mamdani has previously described Israel as an “apartheid state,” accusing it of committing “genocide” in Gaza and calling for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. However, he also emphasized his intolerance for anti-Semitism and pledged to increase funding to combat hate crimes.