Democrats stole Trump’s playbook throughout 2025 elections: Salena Zito
Salena Zito, a washington Examiner columnist, argued that Democrats adopted strategies similar to those used by former President Donald Trump during the 2025 elections. She cited Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City as an example, noting that mamdani engaged voters by appearing in unconventional places and running a lively, relatable campaign. Mamdani, a socialist, won with strong support from young voters who were drawn more to his focus on affordability than his deeper socialist policies.
Zito also highlighted Pennsylvania Republicans’ failures in the 2025 elections, saying they “fell flat” by not effectively addressing economic issues, which contributed to losses in key counties that traditionally voted Republican. Republican candidates who did emphasize economic populism tended to perform better, reflecting a strategy borrowed from Trump’s playbook. Zito emphasized that Democrats had successfully adapted some of Trump’s campaigning tactics, which contributed to their electoral successes.
Salena Zito says Democrats stole from Trump’s playbook throughout 2025 elections
Washington Examiner columnist Salena Zito said Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won the New York City race because he took a page out of President Donald Trump’s playbook.
“I think that why [Mamdani] won in New York was because he stole something from the Trump playbook in that he showed up in places where people don’t show up,” Zito said Thursday on Fox News’s The Bottom Line. “And he was having fun while he was doing his campaign.”
Mamdani, a socialist, won 50.4% of the vote with 93% of the votes counted already. Independent candidate and former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo earned 41.6% and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa received 7.1% of the vote.
Zito said young people did not “pay attention” to the “depths” of Mamdani’s “socialis[t] and communis[t]” policies.
“They heard ‘affordability’ and they’re like, ‘Oh look at that dude in my neighborhood,’” Zito said.
Voters under 30 years old strongly supported Mamdani, with 78% of them voting for him, according to the Fox News Voter Poll.
Zito said that Pennsylvania Republicans “fell flat talking about the economy” in the 2025 elections and that the results are not because of Trump.
Pennsylvania Republicans “lost really important counties of Bucks, Erie, Luzerne. They even lost tiny little Clearfield County, and I don’t think that voted for a Democrat in like 100 years,” Zito said. “But they stole from the president’s playbook — they talked about economic populism.”
Pennsylvanians voted to reelect three justices who ran as Democrats, keeping the state Supreme Court at a 5-2 majority.
2025 ELECTION TAKEAWAYS: REPUBLICANS LOST AND THEY KNOW IT
Zito said that Pennsylvania Republicans, outside of Sen. David McCormick (R-PA), did not talk about the economy.
“The local Republicans just didn’t show up and do that kind of thing that makes the voter want to be on your side because you’re going to take them to a better place,” she said.
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