WATCH: Scott Adams Gobsmacked At How Trump Stole Critical Narrative From Mamdani
As someone who has given his life to studying persuasion, this was a masterclass
Scott Adams has been studying persuasion for a long time. Mamdani’s campaign seized on a winning argument that would tough to beat… but Trump found a way.
His winning approach hinged on three words:
Recognize
Strategize
Neutralize
When the newly minted Communist Mayor of NYC walked into the office of the guy he (still!) calls a ‘fascist’, you might have expected sparks to fly. Instead, you saw the mayor standing behind Trump’s desk with both men smiling, and later, both posing in front of a photo of FDR.
(The obvious joke there might be that it’s Mamdani’s tacit endorsement for Trump to run for another term.)
Most people saw a meeting of two very different people talking about what to do about New York. But Scott Adams was studying their interaction very carefully through another lens. What would Trump do about Mamdani’s ‘affordability’ platform.
It was pitch-perfect, and (other than any questions about foreign dollars, and the voting patterns of more recent arrivals vs. native New Yorkers) it was the most obvious reason why he commanded such an unexpected win in NYC.
If Mamdani has a platform that can scarecely be improved upon, how does a marketing master like Trump position himself? Was he panited into a corner, or is there a way out? Scott himself was left scratching his head on what it would take to counter Mamdani’s platform.
The three specific steps were so perfectly executed that even Scott didn’t see them coming. Scott walks us through them.
Trump Persuasion Lesson
Scott Adams breaks down how Trump stole "affordability" from Zohran and made it his own.
As only Trump can.Recognize
Strategize
Neutralize@ScottAdamsSays "That’s three-for-three of three of the hardest things you could do in persuasion.Recognize the… pic.twitter.com/Rh6qvhjWrU
— jay plemons (@jayplemons) November 22, 2025