CNN’s Fareed Zakaria blasts ‘blue cities’ like NYC, LA for ‘out of control’ budgets: ‘Spending more, delivering less’

CNN host Fareed Zakaria blasted “blue cities” like New York and Los Angeles for their “out of control” spending – pointing at NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to hike property taxes.

During his show “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on Sunday, the lefty journalist blasted Democratic-run cities for overspending on entitlement programs.

“New York is really a prime example of a problem Democrats seem unwilling to confront,” he said. “Blue cities are out of control, promising more, spending more, delivering less and pushing off the fiscal problems to some future date.”

CNN host Fareed Zakaria blasted “blue cities” like New York and Los Angeles for their “out of control” spending. CNN

Zakaria called out Mamdani, the 34-year-old socialist mayor leading the Big Apple who recently suggested hiking city property taxes by as much as 9.5% to support his massive $127 billion budget proposal.

“Zohran Mamdani’s basic instinct is correct. Focus on affordability, especially housing – but not by providing government subsidies,” Zakaria said, adding that subsidies have only driven up the cost of rent.

He claimed the city’s rental-assistance spending jumped more than five times from $263 million in fiscal year 2020 to $1.34 billion in fiscal year 2025. 

Instead of implementing a rent freeze and spending on free buses and childcare, Zakaria argued that Mamdani should focus on ramping up new building construction in the city.

“That will bring in more people, expand the taxbase, fill the schools and increase local GDP, and that will make the budget affordable,” he said. 

“For Democrats in city halls, there is a choice. Stop governing as if the goal is to announce new entitlements, and instead make government work. Safer streets, functioning schools, predictable sanitation and above all, enough housing that the middle class can find places to live.”

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed hiking city property taxes by as much as 9.5%. Michael Nagle for NY Post

The Trump administration’s rapid response social media team was so pleased with Zakaria’s rant on Democrat-led cities that they shared a clip of the segment in a post on X.

During his show on Sunday, Zakaria also took aim at Democratic leadership in Los Angeles and Chicago.

The City of Angels has a roughly $950 million budget for tackling homelessness this year – but homelessness has grown 80% in the city from 2015 to 2024 despite funding, Zakaria noted.

In Chicago, the mayor’s approval ratings are “underwater” and pension promises are so large “that they will surely bankrupt the city at some point,” the host added.

The Post has sought comment from Mamdani’s office.