JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon held ‘friendly' phone chat with Zohran Mamdani after calling him a ‘Marxist': report
The conversation between Wall Street's most powerful banker and the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist reportedly took place just a short time after Dimon panned Mamdani's far-left economic platform last month during a public appearance in Dublin.
Manhattan's financial elite are grappling with the prospect of dealing with a far-left mayor who has touted proposals including rent freezes, government-owned grocery stores and massive tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy.
5 JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently called New York's likely next mayor Zohran Mamdani, according to a report.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Mamdani, who crushed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June's Democratic primary and holds a commanding lead in November polls, has struck fear into the hearts of business leaders as past comments have surfaced about the need to 'seize the means of production.'
The Queens lawmaker, who also once touted defunding the police, has sat down with Point72 hedge fund chief of staff Michael Sullivan, high-powered lawyer Brad Karp, Brooklyn developer Jed Walentas and 32 Advisors CEO Robert Wolf, among others, Bloomberg News reported.
'The core of my politics is not just sincerity, but also a desire for partnership,' Mamdani said last month before meeting with skeptical business leaders.
The charm offensive comes as Wall Street grapples with the prospect that someone who promises billions in social spending could soon control City Hall.
Mamdani faces incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in November, but polls show him with a substantial advantage.
Kathy Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, has reportedly been helping arrange the meetings by providing Mamdani's campaign with contact information for about a dozen executives.
5 Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist, is poised to become New York City's next mayor, according to polls.
Getty Images
State Attorney General Letitia James, City Comptroller Brad Lander and former Open Society Foundations President Patrick Gaspard have also organized gatherings, Bloomberg News reported.
A spokesperson for James confirmed Bloomberg's reporting when reached by The Post.
Business leaders want to know if Mamdani would keep Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, given his past calls to defund the police.
5 Kathy Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, has reportedly been helping arrange meetings between Mamdani and the city's business elite.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
The candidate has said he'll consider it but hasn't committed.
At a meeting tech investor Charles Phillips organized for black executives last month, Mamdani softened his previous comment that billionaires shouldn't exist and said he doesn't really believe in defunding the police, according to Phillips.
'He was responsive and listened. In some areas he budged a little bit,' Phillips said.
The executives pressed Mamdani on practical concerns about his rent freeze proposal, warning that landlords facing foreclosure from rising expenses could destabilize the housing market, Bloomberg News reported.
5 The chief of staff for the Point72 hedge run founded by Mets owner Steve Cohen also reportedly met with Mamdani.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Larger gatherings have also taken place.
About 150 business leaders attended one meeting organized by Wylde's group, including Centerview Partners' Blair Effron and Vornado Realty Trust's Steve Roth, according to the Bloomberg News report.
The next day, roughly 200 tech executives gathered to hear from Mamdani, with Point72's Sullivan grabbing face time as the session ended.
Many of the city's business titans are spurning Mamdani's charm offensive.
5 Brad Karp, a high-powered attorney who is well-connected in the city, is also reported to have met with Mamdani.
Getty Images
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who supported Cuomo in the primary, now backs Adams and regularly attacks Mamdani on social media.
Fellow billionaire Dan Loeb complained about the city's 'hot commie summer' after Mamdani's primary victory.
The Post has sought comment from , Mamdani, JPMorgan Chase, Walentas, Point72, Karp, Wylde, James, Lander and Gaspard.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
3 minutes ago
- New York Post
More than 700 National Guard troops from 3 GOP-led states will be deployed to DC to bolster Trump crackdown
Three Republican-led states will be deploying hundreds of National Guard members to Washington, DC, to bolster President Trump's crackdown on crime and homelessness in the nation's capital. West Virginia will be sending up to 400 troops, South Carolina has pledged 200 and Ohio will dispatch 150 in the coming days, the three states announced on Saturday. 'We stand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region and contribute to the collective effort of making our nation's capital a clean and safe environment,' Maj. Gen. Jim Seward of the West Virginia National Guard said. The Mountain State's governor, Patrick Morrisey, added: 'West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation's capital,' adding that the mission 'reflects our shared commitment to a strong and secure America.' Three Republican-run states are sending an additional 750 National Guard personnel to Washington DC. AP South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced the deployment of 200 National Guard personnel from the Palmetto State to DC, but said the troops could be recalled in the event of a major national disaster such as a hurricane. He said the deployment was part of Trump's efforts to restore law and order in Washington, and in response to a request from the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, meanwhile, said he was sending 150 military police officers to support the DC National Guard. It follows protests in the capital on Saturday. Getty Images 'These Ohio National Guard members will carry out presence patrols and serve as added security,' he said in a statement. None of the members — who are expected to arrive in DC within the coming days — are currently serving as law enforcement officers within the Buckeye State, DeWine said. The deployments of 750 troops from the three states would bring the total number of National Guard personnel within the capital to over 1,450. So far, National Guard members have played a limited role in the federal intervention. Troops have been spotted patrolling landmarks such as the National Mall and Union Station, as well as assisting law enforcement with tasks such as crowd control. With Post wires
New York Post
3 minutes ago
- New York Post
NY Dems aim to de-mask ICE agents to scare them off their raids — NOT to protect the public
Supporters claim a bill introduced by Democratic state lawmakers last month banning ICE agents and police from wearing masks during raids will ensure safety and prevent authoritarianism. One backer, Sen. Patricia Fahy, fumes that ICE is 'operating like masked militias' and 'paramilitary secret police' and so must be reined in. Nonsense: The awkwardly and misleadingly named Mandating End to Lawless Tactics Act is actually little more than an attempt to thwart immigration enforcement by making ICE agents fear for their personal safety. It joins similar efforts in other states and in Congress to 'unmask ICE.' In the words of GOP Sen. George Borrello, 'This bill is driven by ideology, not a genuine concern for public safety.' The Left's hypocrisy on this issue is staggering. Progressives — including many of the MELT Act's supporters in the Legislature — have opposed mask bans for criminal suspects and rioters, such as Nassau County's common-sense ban, which has exceptions for law enforcement. Yet for all their sympathy for those involved with the criminal-justice system, they have no qualms about painting cops as criminals and subjecting them to mask bans. If these lawmakers truly cared about public safety, they'd go after the rioters and real criminals who've routinely hidden their identities to evade accountability following the 2020 George Floyd unrest and Oct. 7 demonstrations. ICE and other law enforcement don't mask up because they have machinations of becoming a 'paramilitary secret police.' They do so to keep themselves and their families safe from multinational gangs such as Tren de Aragua. Facial-recognition technology, now rapidly improving due to AI, gives anyone — including nefarious actors like Antifa or cartel members — the ability to reverse image search the unmasked face of an ICE agent. They can then obtain and post their names, addresses and information about their relatives to social media. While the Justice Department can prosecute those responsible for such doxxing, it is nonetheless a frequent threat to agents and loved ones. Addresses of hotels where agents stay during operations are routinely spread on social media so that protesters can harass them. Agitators are so well-organized that an app was created to report and rush to ICE raid locations, as seen in Los Angeles riots this year. The Department of Homeland Security has reported an 830% increase in assaults on ICE personnel this year, attributed to an increase in doxxing and rhetoric against agents. Worse still, even if the MELT Act passes, its effects would be largely symbolic. Lawmakers like Fahy clearly don't understand federalism. Because the Constitution gives federal law precedence, any federal regulation would immediately supersede the MELT Act if passed, rendering it largely symbolic. Additionally, federal agents are immune from state criminal prosecution when acting within the scope of their authority. The MELT Act would also require that all law enforcement agents display their names or badge numbers on their uniforms, hamstringing the plainclothes units of local New York police departments, which now must only provide this information verbally. Some of the bill's supporters mention a more realistic point that masking without wearing identification might allow for easier impersonation of ICE officers. They might also argue that a lack of masking deters possible police misconduct, despite the widespread use of body cameras. Those are valid concerns. But there are ways to protect the public even with masked law enforcement. Public-education campaigns should remind residents that ICE agents and other law enforcement are legally required to identify themselves as police as soon as it is practicable and safe to do so. New Yorkers under arrest should keep in mind their constitutional protections, such as the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Masked or not, imposters can still pose as ICE or any other law-enforcement officers. Requiring names or badge numbers does nothing if there's no reliable way to immediately verify the person's legitimacy. The answer isn't a largely symbolic law to neuter real agents; it's to strengthen identification through local cooperation. The only way to fully reassure New Yorkers is cooperation between local police and ICE, whether via collaborative task forces, such as through the federal 287(g) program already adopted by several counties, or by having nearby officers accompany raids to keep public order, which would help quickly debunk any imposters. This type of public partnership would not be a political statement about immigration, rather a commonsense way to put the public at ease and ensure all involved in raids are safe. The MELT Act is symbolic theater that punishes law enforcement while doing nothing to realistically stop imposters. New Yorkers would be safer if lawmakers scrapped this bill and instead fostered real cooperation between local police and ICE to deter fraud and protect both the public and the agents doing dangerous work. Paul Dreyer is a cities policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute.
Time Magazine
4 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
GOP States Send Hundreds of National Guard Troops to D.C.
Governors from three Republican states announced this weekend that they would send hundreds of National Guard troops to support President Donald Trump's already 800-strong deployment in Washington, D.C. Joining the D.C. Guard members deployed by Trump last week, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said the state would send 300 to 400 of its Guard troops, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster pledged 200 troops, and Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said 150 Guard members would arrive in the coming days. McMaster said he was sending troops 'to support President Trump in his mission to restore law and order to our nation's capital,' and that the Guard members would return home if an emergency affected South Carolina. Morrisey said that the troops are being sent 'at the request' of Trump and as a show of 'regional cooperation.' 'WVNG involvement will include providing mission-essential equipment, specialized training, and approximately 300-400 skilled personnel as directed,' Morissey's office added. The new contributions amount to a near-doubling of National Guard troops in D.C. and a significant escalation of Trump's takeover of policing in the city, which has already been marked by protests and criticism over his attempts to expand his executive power. Though the escalation has not been addressed specifically by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, she posted on X late Saturday: 'American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican.' Trump invoked emergency powers to take control of the D.C. police department and call in the National Guard last week, claiming the city had been overrun by "bloodshed, bedlam and squalor." That claim is disputed by experts. Trump also mentioned other major cities where he wants to put police under federal control, including New York City, Baltimore, and Oakland. 'They're so far gone," Trump said. 'This will go further. We're starting very strongly with D.C." Bowser's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith still technically has day-to-day command over MPD following a failed attempt by the Trump Administration to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as an "emergency police commissioner." But, Bowser and city leaders are still required to cooperate with Trump and his Executive Order declaring a state of emergency in the district. Bowser has been adamant that Trump's response to crime in D.C. has been overblown and unnecessary, as crime has decreased in the city in the last two years after a spike in 2023. In addition to National Guard troops, Trump also deployed federal officers from the U.S. Park Police, ICE, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the U.S. Marshals Service on night patrols in D.C. In the first week, federal officers have set up checkpoints around the city, and police have arrested almost 200 people, including 75 arrests by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE)—utilizing the city takeover to further Trump's aggressive immigration tactics since his return to office in January.
