The former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly issued a stark warning to New Yorkers this week, reportedly arguing that voters who cast their ballots for state Rep. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialists of America nominee for mayor, would be “committing an act of evil.”
Mamdani, who stunned the city’s political establishment in June by defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination, now faces a general election against Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, and Cuomo, who is waging a third-party bid.
The crowded race has exposed deep divisions within New York’s Democratic Party, with some of its most prominent leaders declining to rally behind their own nominee.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New Yorkers and two of the most powerful Democrats in Washington, have so far withheld their endorsements of Mamdani. Their silence reflects concerns that the socialist candidate’s positions could drive the city toward lawlessness.
O’Reilly, a frequent guest on NewsNation, sharpened that critique during an appearance Monday on On Balance with host Leland Vittert. “We’re about, in New York City, to elect a mayor who simply will not enforce any laws,” O’Reilly said flatly. “Any laws! It is gonna be anarchy and blood in the streets. And anybody who votes for that Mamdani is, in my opinion, committing an act of evil. Pull a lever for that man. You are responsible for what happens later.”
Vittert, who made clear he is no supporter of Mamdani, pushed back slightly. “Oh come on,” he replied. “You’re gonna blame people who are voting, saying, ‘Hey, look, I can’t afford groceries. This guy’s talking about giving me and my family a better life,’ and they’re evil?”
O’Reilly did not waver. He insisted voters should judge Mamdani on his own words and policies. “If you are not smart enough to know the man you’re voting for has said out of his own mouth that he does not believe in incarceration, that he has called the NYPD racist, that he wants to knock out the gang investigation unit, and you pull that lever, you’re enabling evil.”
The conservative commentator then reached for a historical comparison, invoking Germany in the 1930s as an example of citizens bearing responsibility for the leaders they choose. “In 1934. Hindenburg died in Germany, the president,” O’Reilly recalled. “Hitler was the chancellor. There was a referendum. Yes or no. Give Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers. Ninety percent of the German population voted yes, so they got blood on their hands.”
The remarks illustrate the stakes that many conservatives — and even some Democrats — see in New York’s upcoming election.
With crime and disorder continuing to unsettle the city, Mamdani’s calls to dismantle core law enforcement functions and weaken incarceration policies have fueled fears that his victory could lead to chaos.
For O’Reilly, the decision is not merely political but moral. Casting a ballot for Mamdani, he argued, is not an act of hope but a dangerous step toward anarchy, one for which voters will have to bear responsibility.
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