Right Now With Perry Bacon

In his first month as New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani has endorsed candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America—and also centrist incumbent New York Governor Kathy Hochul. He reached a deal with Hochul to expand childcare but remains at loggerheads with her over his proposals to increase taxes on the wealthy. He’s fixated on very local issues like snow removal but is also joining national progressives in calling for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On the latest edition of the Right Now, Peter Sterne, state editor of City & State New York, discusses the new mayor’s first month. He argues that Mamdani is showing his practical side, conceding to political realities in endorsing Hochul and reaching policy compromises with her.

In his first month as New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani has endorsed candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America—and also centrist incumbent New York Governor Kathy Hochul. He reached a deal with Hochul to expand childcare but remains at loggerheads with her over his proposals to increase taxes on the wealthy. He’s fixated on very local issues like snow removal but is also joining national progressives in calling for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On the latest edition of the Right Now, Peter Sterne, state editor of City & State New York, discusses the new mayor’s first month. He argues that Mamdani is showing his practical side, conceding to political realities in endorsing Hochul and reaching policy compromises with her.

The “religious right” has long been a key part of Republican politics. But the role of the faithful in the GOP is shifting, says David Buckley, a political science professor at the University of Louisville and expert on the role of religion in politics. With Roe v. Wade overturned, conservative Catholics and Protestants aren’t as focused on the issue of abortion. And in some ways, they aren’t pushing the party at all. Instead, Trump has united religious conservatives and nonreligious conservatives on issues like opposing transgender rights and diversity and inclusion initiatives. On the Democratic side, even as a growing number of Democratic voters are nonreligious, Buckley says progressive Christians, Jews, and Muslims play an important role in the party and other left-wing causes. Catholic groups and leaders, he argues, are playing an important role in the mobilizations against the administration in Minneapolis and more broadly in defending immigrants across the country.