By Katherine Tinsley
10:31am PDT, Jul 10, 2025
_
New York City mayoral candidate
Zohran Mamdani has become popular amongst Gen Z voters. Veteran political strategist
Mark Penn, who worked with both
Bill Clinton and
Hillary Clinton, reacted to the shift in political culture amongst younger generations — and he did not have kind things to say.
Keep reading for the details…
MORE:
Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more top news
_
In an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, Mark Penn branded Gen Z the "useful idiot generation" in response to Zohran Mamdani's rising popularity with younger voters. He later addressed his comments on the Fox News show America's Newsroom. "You had some humdingers in this piece. … Go ahead and explain yourself. … That's tough," said host Bill Hemmer. Replied Penn, "They don't really know in depth the things that they've been adopted or indoctrinated with. They have been taught to blame capitalism. You look at young people — close to 40% of young people now favor socialism over capitalism."
_
Donald Trump has accused Zohran Mamdani of being a communist, which the self-professed democratic socialist has denied. Mark Penn thinks younger people don't understand what socialism actually is. "What does that mean to them? It doesn't mean Venezuela or Cuba to them. It means free stuff," Penn said on America's Newsroom. "Free rent, free buses. We all know you can't have just free stuff. That never works. It always deteriorates. But they don't have any history or knowledge."
_
"Look at all these trends that come together: Lack of religion and belief in patriotism and American values; belief that socialism, not capitalism, is the answer — and capitalism is really the problem here," Mark Penn continued.
_
Bill Hemmer noted that social media has greatly influenced Gen Z and their opinions. "The social media flood — particularly TikTok, which is, after all, still owned by the Chinese — that is getting directly to our young people," Mark Penn agreed. "I think when you put this all together, you see how somebody like [Zohran] Mamdani — who has very antisemitic, socialist views — can come out ahead on top."
