Seattle’s Katie Wilson could teach Mamdani about swallowing socialist pride

Mayor Zohran Mamdani could stand to learn a leadership lesson from his socialist comrade, Seattle’s Mayor Katie Wilson.

Wilson walked back waving “bye” to unhappy millionaires, slamming Starbucks and pushing for a boycott of the Emerald City coffee giant.

As mayor-elect, she’d embraced striking baristas with a harsh, “I am not buying Starbucks, and you should not either.”

Mayor Katie Wilson speaks at a protest and rally against immigration enforcement Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Seattle, Washington. AP

And just last month she laughed off the idea that “tax the rich” hikes might prompt a high-earner exodus: “I think the claims that millionaires are going to leave our state are, like, super overblown. And if — the ones that leave, like, bye.”

Now that the company’s looking to grow its headquarters far away in Nashville, Tenn., and could quit its birthplace altogether, she’s having second thoughts.

“Those comments were not productive in the sense that they caused more harm than good,” Seattle’s socialist mayor sheepishly told the New York Times.

Yes: Flipping off the people and businesses that are the lifeblood of your city is, well, just dumb.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani makes a child care announcement at Garden School on May 19, 2026, in New York City. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

What would it take for Mamdani to admit that?

Yes, he’s been meeting with top CEOs like Jamie Dimon and David Solomon to privately try to take the sting out of his name-and-shame video outside the home of Citadel’s Ken Griffin.

But he isn’t publicly regretting painting a target on a finance titan’s residence in a city that’s already seen one top exec assassinated and the killing’s cheerleaders given press passes by City Hall.

And the mayor continues to dismiss talk of “millionaire flight” due to an increased tax burden as “imagined.”

We doubt Mayor Wilson was at all sincere in offering her regrets, but at least she’s trying; Mamdani’s too in love with his own image to swallow his pride for the good of the city he claims to love.