Tech investor David Friedberg says it's wrong to assume Zohran Mamdani's city-run grocery stores will 'radically fail'

Aug 04, 2026 12:15 AM - 1 hour ago 3

Venture capitalist David Friedberg says critics shouldn't constitute disconnected New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's city-run market stores.

"Everyone's sewage it a small spot incorrect successful assuming that this point is going to radically fail," Friedberg said during a caller section of "The All-In" Podcast, which he cohosts.

Friedberg said, "It's a sad state" that the government-subsidized market stores, 1 of Mamdani's halfway run promises, will apt travel to fruition and spur akin efforts elsewhere erstwhile group spot the stores successful action.

"I deliberation that these things are going to create a extremist spectacle, an exuberance for socialist policies that's going to benignant of ray a occurrence for socialism astir the country, unfortunately," he said. "Because astatine the extremity of the day, nary 1 has to salary the bill, because the measure doesn't travel owed for immoderate time."

Mamdani's market scheme has been heavy criticized. Red Apple Group CEO John Catsimatidis, an area market shop magnate and longtime friend of President Donald Trump, precocious told Fox Business that Mamdani's scheme was "trying to create thing that's not viable."

The stores, Friedberg said, will "create a spiral wherever you request to connection much worldly for free to travel up pinch a measurement to screen the costs of the ostentation for group that can't spend things anymore." But successful the contiguous future, Friedberg expects them to beryllium rather popular.

"They're going to outperform Whole Foods. They're going to outperform Safeway. They're going to outperform Albertsons," he said. "They're going to beryllium truthful successful request that what will extremity up happening is that complete the adjacent 24 months, each different metropolis successful America will look to these market stores and say, 'We want the same. Why does only New York get these market stores?'"

Under the plan, New York will unfastened 5 market stores, 1 successful each of the city's boroughs. Mamdani antecedently said the stores will connection a 30% discount connected the "most communal and astir captious groceries for families," for illustration caller produce, meat, and dairy. The metropolis has group speech $70 cardinal to motorboat the stores, pinch further backing to travel erstwhile they are operational. The Bronx location will unfastened successful 2027, the first 1 group to open.

Friedberg and his "All-In Podcast" cohosts person lamented the emergence of socialism broadly. Recently, a fistful of Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates person won legislature primaries successful New York, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. Not each candidates work together pinch the DSA's full platform, which, successful summation to supporting policies for illustration Medicare for All, besides calls for abolishing the US Senate.

"A large portion of the multi-level trading strategy of socialism is to create spectacle," Friedberg said. "And it will create much spectacle that will thief to substance the multi-level trading strategy of socialism. And remember, the problem pinch each multi-level trading schemes astatine the extremity of the time is personification has to salary the bill."

Polls show that American adults stay broadly skeptical of socialism.

Last fall, Gallup found that 54% of Americans had a affirmative position of capitalism, the lowest since the patient began search specified opinions successful 2010. At the aforesaid time, only 39% of Americans had a affirmative position of socialism.

The communicative is different erstwhile you look astatine circumstantial groups. In the aforesaid poll, much than 6 successful 10 Democrats had a affirmative position of socialism, compared to conscionable 14% of Republicans and 38% of independent voters.

On the heels of the caller electoral occurrence of antiauthoritarian socialist candidates, a Washington Post-Ipsos poll recovered that 3 successful 4 Democrats would see supporting a campaigner pinch that ideology for president. In contrast, a mostly (55%) of Americans would not see supporting a antiauthoritarian socialist for president.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, who considers himself a antiauthoritarian socialist but is not a personnel of the DSA, ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic statesmanlike information successful 2016 and 2020.