Michael Smerconish Shocked By His Tax the Rich Poll Results

"Smerconish took issue during his Saturday show a video New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) made recently outside of billionaire Ken Griffin's New York penthouse while pushing for a tax on luxury second homes in the state. The video led to billionaire Vornado Realty Trust CEO Steve Roth calling out the mayor and going viral for comparing such tax the rich rhetoric to some disgusting racial slurs. I must say that I consider the phrase tax the rich' quote, tax the rich when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs, Roth said, a comment heavily debated on cable news on Saturday."

"Smerconish said the stunt seemed like more a shakedown than policy and argued Democrats should be cautious about embracing an aggressive tax the rich tone. The CNN host was shocked how close the results were in his poll he dropped on social media once he read the results at the end of the show. Wow. Very close, huh? he said. The CNN host asked in the poll: Is the Mamdani tax the rich' theme an asset or liability for Democrats nationally."

"With more than 25,000 votes at the time, 51% called the them an asset and 49% called it a liability. 49% is the correct answer. It is a liability, Smerconish said. He argued such rhetoric can work in a primary, but won't hold water in general elections. To make it tax the rich, great for a Democratic primary candidate, not so good in a general, at least in my opinion, Smerconish said."

A poll asked whether a “tax the rich” theme tied to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would be an asset or liability for Democrats nationally. The poll results were nearly split, with 51% calling it an asset and 49% calling it a liability. Michael Smerconish said the correct answer was liability and argued the rhetoric can succeed in Democratic primaries but fails in general elections. He criticized a viral video outside billionaire Ken Griffin’s New York penthouse that promoted a tax on luxury second homes, calling it more like a shakedown than policy. Steve Roth condemned the mayor’s approach and compared the rhetoric to hateful racial slurs, drawing heavy debate on cable news.

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