European left-wing politicians are crossing the Atlantic to study a campaign model they see as a blueprint for revival — the campaign of New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist whose grassroots machine has captured attention far beyond his Queens district.

According to a Politico Europe report on Monday, far-left delegations from France, Germany and the U.K. visited New York this week to observe Mamdani’s operation firsthand. Among them were the deputy leader of the U.K. Green Party; a parliamentary officer for Germany’s Left (Die Linke) Party; as well as a French member of the European Parliament, with the goal of translating what they see as a successful campaign into more victories for Europe’s hard-left parties.

Alan Mendoza, executive director of the London-based Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital, ‘Nobody would have thought New York would succumb to this five years ago. But there are certain conditions — a problematic economy, cost-of-living issues, and weak opposition — that make it fertile ground. Those conditions certainly exist in many European cities, so you can see an immediate crossover.’

Mendoza added, ‘It’s no surprise they’re coming to study Mamdani’s campaign,’ he said. ‘It looks like it’s going to be a very successful one, and the fact that somebody with his views and policies looks like they’re about to be elected as mayor of one of the most famous cities in the world is a boon to all those who share his politics internationally.’

Mendoza described Mamdani as a ‘trailblazer’ for hard-left movements that have often struggled to win major offices in Western democracies. ‘He’s bringing victory where there has always previously been defeat for politicians of the far left,’ he said. ‘His tactics, his style, his pronouncements — his form of forging a governing coalition, are going to be of keen interest to similar hard leftists around the world.’

In New York, Mamdani has built his base through neighborhood-level activism, which European politicians see as a path to reenergize voters. The former leader of the U.K.’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, who now leads the upstart Your Party, said on social media that he and his team phone banked for Mamdani.

Corbyn shared the phone-banking link which leads a website organized by the Democratic Socialists of America’s NYC chapter which is urging volunteers to mobilize voters for Mamdani.

Mendoza warned that replicating Mamdani’s ideological platform could deepen polarization. ‘Europe is already more statist and more left-wing as a rule than America anyway,’ he said. ‘So if he can win in New York, why can’t a hard leftist win in Europe? The question is whether those policies would actually work — and history shows they don’t.’

Mendoza dismissed identity as a driving factor behind Mamdani’s success, despite debates over his immigrant background. ‘It’s not an ethnicity question,’ he said. ‘It’s a question of what his ideology is — and that can be shared by people whether they’re born in a country or not.’

Fox News’ Emma Bussey contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Andrew Cuomo on Monday while threatening to withhold federal funding from New York City if Zohran Mamdani, who he labeled a ‘Communist’, wins the mayoral election.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, he also warned that the city would face ‘total economic and social disaster’ under Mamdani’s leadership.

‘If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!’ he wrote in the post.

‘It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad. It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win,’ he added before claiming a win for Mamdani would be a ‘Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster.’

The president’s post also marked his latest attempt to guide New Yorkers at the polls.

‘A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani,’ Trump added.

‘Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!’

Speaking at a press event in New York on the eve of the election, Mamdani responded to the president’s Truth Social post.

‘The MAGA movement’s embrace of Andrew Cuomo is reflective of Donald Trump’s understanding that this would be the best mayor for him,’ he said.

‘Not the best mayor for New York City, not the best mayor for New Yorkers, but the best mayor for Donald Trump and his administration.’

Mamdani also responded to Elon Musk supporting Cuomo on Monday, saying ‘the reason that the President of the United States of America, the reason that one of the wealthiest men in the world are both trying to get involved at the last minute, is that they know we will accomplish everything we have run on.’

The socialist mayoral candidate spoke out about Trump’s threat to withhold federal funding from the city, and labeled it unlawful.

‘It is not the law,’ Mamdani told reporters. ‘And too often we treat everything that comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth as if it is already legal, just by virtue of who is saying it.’

What if Sen. Bernie Sanders is right and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is wrong?

What if the AI revolution causes mass layoffs of American workers, as the Vermont senator warned in a recent Fox News op-ed? And what if Powell is wrong that the softening labor market is due primarily to supply issues — lower immigration and a lower labor participation rate — rather than AI-produced ‘efficiencies’?

What will be the response of policymakers? What should it be?

AI will soon become a political battleground. Democratic socialist Sanders, ever the class warrior, has already questioned whether AI will help all Americans or only ‘a handful of billionaires.’ Like the trade deals that sent millions of jobs overseas, Sanders worries that the massive investment flowing into AI could result in up to 100 million Americans losing their jobs over the next decade. He could be right; imagine the repercussions.

Young people are already losing faith in capitalism and cozying up to socialism. Two-thirds of Democrats now view socialism more positively than capitalism. Nothing could undermine our capitalist system faster than widespread job losses stemming from a tech breakthrough cheered by the investor class.

This is the critical issue of our day — one getting scant attention, even from self-described ‘data-driven’ Powell, who is perennially looking backward rather than forward. In his latest press conference, Powell answered one question about employment by saying, ‘The supply of workers has dropped very, very sharply due to mainly immigration, but also lower labor force participation. So, and that means there’s less need for new jobs, because there’s — there isn’t this flow into the pool of labor where people need jobs.’ Excuse me, what?

The economy is growing, yet hiring is declining. Though the government shutdown has blocked the usual monthly labor reports, plenty of data suggests the job market is weakening. Companies are increasingly citing AI investment as a factor in lower headcounts.

Corporate America is spending tens of billions of dollars on AI, promising shareholders great gains in productivity. But where will that productivity come from, other than reducing headcounts? Certainly, people armed with artificial intelligence can deliver information and analyses more rapidly, making themselves and their organizations more productive. But ultimately, it will also make some people redundant and slow new hiring. The impact on America’s labor market will be profound — and is largely being ignored.

Amazon recently announced it was laying off 14,000 employees. A top human resources official at the firm sent a note titled ‘Staying nimble and continuing to strengthen our organizations.’ She wrote that ‘the world is changing quickly. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.’

What kinds of workers are at risk? Factory workers and truck drivers, for sure, who are already being replaced by robots and AI — but also white-collar employees. Fortune notes that the Amazon layoffs ‘show it’s coming for middle management first.’ The world’s largest retailer employs about 1.5 million people; 14,000 is a drop in the bucket. But the trend is worrisome — and for those 14,000 people, devastating.

Amazon is not alone. UPS recently announced it has cut 48,000 jobs this year — 14,000 management positions and 34,000 in operations. UPS started the year with about 500,000 employees. Target also made headlines recently, saying it will cut 8% of its corporate workforce — its first significant layoffs in a decade.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas cites market and economic conditions as the main reason for most corporate layoffs to date but also points to AI. That makes sense. After all, the economy is growing briskly — second-quarter real GDP growth was 3.8%, and it looks like we’ll see robust expansion for the third quarter as well.

There has never been a faster adoption of new technology. Already, an estimated one-third of Americans use AI; ChatGPT receives 5.4 billion visits per month. Global AI revenues are expected to total $391 billion this year and could reach $3.5 trillion by 2033. These estimates may be optimistic, but top tech firms are investing about $400 billion this year alone to expand capacity, according to The Wall Street Journal. They clearly believe the projections.

Bernie Sanders aside, no one should want to halt the AI revolution. Artificial intelligence promises extraordinary advances in medicine and other sciences — and could radically improve education for America’s children.

It’s also largely American companies that will benefit from the explosion in AI spending, reaping the profits and influence that come with global dominance of a new technology. Rising productivity will spur hiring in certain industries and boost real wages. It will also allow for the retirement of the 20-plus million baby boomers still working.

But there may well be a period of adjustment when layoffs exceed job creation. Unemployment may rise, fueling anger at the innovations producing more out-of-work Americans and resentment toward the companies behind the disruptions.

Lawmakers and financial leaders need to be prepared for this possibility — one that could deepen voters’ growing affection for socialism and rejection of capitalism. That would be a disaster for a country that has outperformed every other nation on Earth, producing unprecedented opportunity and wealth.

Otherwise, it will be Bernie Sanders and his left-wing colleagues dictating the response. Sanders advocates a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay, giving workers significantly more power and imposing a ‘robot tax’ on big tech companies. Such measures would slow American competitiveness and growth, as they have in Europe.

We cannot allow that to happen.

The Department of Justice on Monday urged a federal court to reject former FBI Director James Comey’s bid to dismiss his case, arguing that his claims of selective prosecution are unfounded.

The DOJ, in its 48-page filing, also denied that President Donald Trump’s September Truth Social post calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute prominent political adversaries, including Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James, had any influence on the decision to bring charges.

‘These posts reflect the President’s view that the defendant has committed crimes that should be met with prosecution. They may even suggest that the President disfavors the defendant. But they are not direct evidence of a vindictive motive,’ prosecutors argued.

‘The defendant spins a tale that requires leaps of logic and a big dose of cynicism, then he calls the President’s post a direct admission,’ they continued. ‘There is no direct admission of discriminatory purpose. To the contrary, the only direct admission from the President is that DOJ officials decided whether to prosecute, not him.’

Trump wrote in a Sept. 20 post on his Truth Social platform that ‘nothing is being done’ to Comey, Schiff or James.

‘They’re all guilty as hell,’ he said. ‘They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!’

The Wall Street Journal reported that the public Truth Social post was intended as a private message to Bondi.

Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury in late September on charges of false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He pleaded not guilty.

His legal team filed a motion on Oct. 20 to dismiss the indictment on grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution. They also argued that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was unlawfully appointed.

Halligan, Trump’s former personal attorney, was appointed by the president after Erik Siebert, the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned. Siebert reportedly resigned amid mounting pressure from the White House to bring charges against Comey and James.

‘The official who purported to secure and sign the indictment was invalidly appointed to her position as interim U.S. Attorney. Because of that fundamental constitutional and statutory defect, the indictment is a nullity and must be dismissed,’ Comey’s legal team wrote.

The Justice Department maintains that Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney was lawful, arguing that it was in line with federal statute and the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.

Comey’s trial is scheduled to begin in January 2026.

NEWARK, N.J. – Enthusiasm was high among New Jersey Democratic voters who flocked to a community college campus Saturday evening to hear from former President Barack Obama as he rallied support for Rep. Mikie Sherrill in her campaign for the governorship.

‘I heard Barack Obama was gonna be here. And I love Barack Obama, so I really came out here for that,’ one voter, Alexis from South Jersey, told Fox Digital. ‘But I do support Mikie, as well.’ 

‘I want to hear Obama,’ Robert, from Spring Lake, told Fox Digital. ‘I think a lot of people want to hear Obama. Wouldn’t it be great to have a message of hope at this point in time?’ 

Hundreds of supporters wrapped around multiple blocks surrounding the Essex County College’s gymnasium on Saturday to hear from Obama and Sherrill as the New Jersey election comes down to its final days. The packed auditorium hit capacity before the ‘Get Out the Vote’ rally officially kicked off, with supporters also watching the rally from an overflow parking lot. 

Prominent rally speakers and attendees alike celebrated hearing from Obama on Saturday, but also repeatedly spoke about President Donald Trump, slamming him for efforts to deport illegal aliens, and pinning blame for the ongoing federal government shutdown on Trump and Republicans. 

A handful of voters who spoke to Fox Digital relayed that their ballot was not one solely focused on Sherrill, but also a vote against Trump and his administration.  

‘Well, the top issue is Trump,’ said Robert from Spring Lake. ‘There’s nothing else other than that. … Trump is absolutely the worst,’ he added, citing that Trump is allegedly ‘anti-science’ and against education. 

‘To get Trump out of office, number one’ one female voter from South Jersey told Fox Digital of why she came out to the rally and her top voting concerns this election. 

‘I am voting for Mikie Sherrill because she actually understands all the people. She is not a minion for Trump,’ another South Jersey voter added. 

Obama also leaned into slamming Trump during his remarks to the crowd, claiming the current economy has benefited ‘Trump’s billionaire friends,’ while ‘ordinary families’ pay increased prices at check-out lines due to Trump’s ‘shambolic tariff policy.’ 

‘Let’s face it, our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now,’ Obama told the audience on Saturday. ‘It’s hard to know where to start, because every day this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and carelessness and mean spiritedness. And just plain old craziness.’

Comments targeting Trump and his administration extended to attacks on Ciattarelli, as well, with Obama casting him as the president’s toady and a ‘suck up’ to the Republican Party. 

Trump made inroads with New Jersey voters just a year ago, in his decisive general election win over former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump cut his 2020 loss from 16 points in the Garden State to six in 2024, and flipped five counties to the GOP, invigorating Republicans in the state to keep the momentum going as GOP gubernatorial candidate Ciattarelli launched his bid for Drumthwacket. 

‘Please go out and vote,’ Irvington Councilwoman Charnette Frederic told Fox Digital. ‘And I’m hoping Obama is the last push to remind you.’

Frederic has served as an Irvington councilwoman since 2012, and said that Obama’s presence in the state for past campaign rallies spurred an influx of voters, remarking she’s hopeful the same will unfold ahead of Tuesday. 

‘I am an immigrant, and I believe in treating people with respect and dignity,’ Frederic said. ‘Whatever I’m seeing right now, this is not the kind of opportunity that we want for our people,’ adding that Sherrill will ‘stand for the people’ against the White House’s stances on immigration and other policies. 

Sherrill, DNC chair Ken Martin, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and other local Democrats took the stage of the auditorium to rally support for Sherrill, while also criticizing the Trump administration as top voter concern. 

‘But my fight doesn’t and can’t end at the border of New Jersey. We’ve got to take on all those hits coming from Trump and Washington, D.C. Because right now the president is running a worldwide extortion racket. You pay more for everything from the coffee you drink in the morning to the groceries you’re cooking dinner with at night as Trump pockets billions. His energy plan is designed for just one audience. The fossil fuel industry,’ Sherrill claimed. 

2025 is an off-year election cycle, with just New Jersey and Virginia holding gubernatorial elections, while other jurisdictions such as New York City are holding mayoral races and other local races. 

As the government shutdown stretches over a month, one left-wing figure has emerged as House Republicans’ most-cited political boogeyman — and it’s not either of the top two Democrats in Congress.

Instead, it’s Zohran Mamdani, a New York State assemblyman and self-proclaimed democratic socialist who is running for mayor more than 200 miles away in New York City.

‘You’ve seen their party get pulled further to the socialist left, and it started when [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.] beat Joe Crowley. And ever since then, Democrats have been afraid of that kind of emerging wing of their party,’ House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital when asked why GOP leaders are invoking Mamdani so often.

‘Today, they are the center of the Democrat Party. They are running the Democrat Party, and you can see it, Mamdani is the one that they’re all scared of and they’re all listening to.’

He pointed to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and his recent endorsement of Mamdani.

‘It’s changed how they run their whole party operation, because they’re afraid of the left base of the party, which is really headed by Mamdani now,’ Scalise said.

House GOP leaders or speakers at their daily shutdown press conferences brought up Mamdani both directly and indirectly at every one of their press conferences last week.

At his Thursday press conference, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accused the media of criticizing his frequent commentary on the New York City socialist.

‘Amazingly, the media is criticizing Republicans for fixating on Mamdani. I read some of that yesterday. This socialist uprising is something that we have a responsibility to call out and sound the alarms. That’s what elected representatives of the people are supposed to do,’ Johnson said.

‘And we take that responsibility seriously. And obviously, Mamdani is a big issue here in the halls of Congress. Why? Because the second-highest ranked Democrat in the country, Leader Jeffries, endorsed him.’

Republicans have also taken to calling him ‘commie Mamdani’ recently, a nickname debuted by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., during a shutdown press conference where House GOP leaders invited Republicans in New York’s congressional delegation to speak.

Mamdani himself criticized Johnson at one point for his focus on him earlier this month.

‘Speaker Johnson should be seating members of Congress, as opposed to using his time to try and attack our campaign,’ Mamdani fired back from Manhattan on Monday.

‘But I understand if I was one of the leaders of the Republican Party that had led a campaign that promised Americans a lower cost of living and cheaper groceries, and all I could deliver for them was a government shutdown, then I, too, would be looking to distract in any way that I could from those lack of results.’

NEWARK, N.J. – Enthusiasm was high among New Jersey Democratic voters who flocked to a community college campus Saturday evening to hear from former President Barack Obama as he rallied support for Rep. Mikie Sherrill in her campaign for the governorship.

‘I heard Barack Obama was gonna be here. And I love Barack Obama, so I really came out here for that,’ one voter, Alexis from South Jersey, told Fox Digital. ‘But I do support Mikie, as well.’ 

‘I want to hear Obama,’ Robert, from Spring Lake, told Fox Digital. ‘I think a lot of people want to hear Obama. Wouldn’t it be great to have a message of hope at this point in time?’ 

Hundreds of supporters wrapped around multiple blocks surrounding the Essex County College’s gymnasium on Saturday to hear from Obama and Sherrill as the New Jersey election comes down to its final days. The packed auditorium hit capacity before the ‘Get Out the Vote’ rally officially kicked off, with supporters also watching the rally from an overflow parking lot. 

Prominent rally speakers and attendees alike celebrated hearing from Obama on Saturday, but also repeatedly spoke about President Donald Trump, slamming him for efforts to deport illegal aliens, and pinning blame for the ongoing federal government shutdown on Trump and Republicans. 

A handful of voters who spoke to Fox Digital relayed that their ballot was not one solely focused on Sherrill, but also a vote against Trump and his administration.  

‘Well, the top issue is Trump,’ said Robert from Spring Lake. ‘There’s nothing else other than that.… Trump is absolutely the worst,’ he added, citing that Trump is allegedly ‘anti-science’ and against education. 

‘To get Trump out of office, number one,’ one female voter from South Jersey told Fox Digital of why she came out to the rally and her top voting concerns this election. 

‘I am voting for Mikie Sherrill because she actually understands all the people. She is not a minion for Trump,’ another South Jersey voter added. 

Obama also leaned into slamming Trump during his remarks to the crowd, claiming the current economy has benefited ‘Trump’s billionaire friends,’ while ‘ordinary families’ pay increased prices at check-out lines due to Trump’s ‘shambolic tariff policy.’ 

‘Let’s face it, our country and our politics are in a pretty dark place right now,’ Obama told the audience on Saturday. ‘It’s hard to know where to start, because every day this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and carelessness and mean-spiritedness. And just plain old craziness.’

Comments targeting Trump and his administration extended to attacks on GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, as well, with Obama casting him as the president’s toady and a ‘suck up’ to the Republican Party. 

Trump made inroads with New Jersey voters just a year ago, in his decisive general election win over former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump cut his 2020 loss from 16 points in the Garden State to six in 2024, and flipped five counties to the GOP, invigorating Republicans in the state to keep the momentum going as Ciattarelli launched his bid for Drumthwacket. 

‘Please go out and vote,’ Irvington Councilwoman Charnette Frederic told Fox Digital. ‘And I’m hoping Obama is the last push to remind you.’

Frederic has served as an Irvington councilwoman since 2012, and said Obama’s presence in the state for past campaign rallies spurred an influx of voters, remarking she’s hopeful the same will unfold ahead of Tuesday. 

‘I am an immigrant, and I believe in treating people with respect and dignity,’ Frederic said. ‘Whatever I’m seeing right now, this is not the kind of opportunity that we want for our people,’ adding that Sherrill will ‘stand for the people’ against the White House’s stances on immigration and other policies. 

Sherrill, DNC chair Ken Martin, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, and other local Democrats took the stage of the auditorium to rally support for Sherrill, while also criticizing the Trump administration. 

‘But my fight doesn’t and can’t end at the border of New Jersey. We’ve got to take on all those hits coming from Trump and Washington, D.C. Because right now the president is running a worldwide extortion racket. You pay more for everything from the coffee you drink in the morning to the groceries you’re cooking dinner with at night as Trump pockets billions. His energy plan is designed for just one audience. The fossil fuel industry,’ Sherrill claimed. 

During this off-year election cycle, New Jersey and Virginia are holding gubernatorial elections, while other jurisdictions such as New York City are holding mayoral races and other local races. 

Late morning was sleepy but bright in Harlem Sunday as Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani gave remarks at the First Corinthian Baptist Church for some last-minute outreach to the Black community.

Just down the street, about 50 people were gathered to learn how to canvass for, and get a pep talk from, Mamdani, along with a row of TV cameras and some milling members of the press. One man walked by chanting ‘Cuomo, Cuomo,’ mostly to amusement from the crowd.

Suddenly, there he was, walking up the sidewalk with his entourage. A school bus driver screamed, ‘Zohran’ and the quick candidate pivoted over to the bus, and took a step up for a hug and a selfie.

It was the first time I had ever seen Mamdani in person, and the bad news for those of us who abhor socialism is that this 34-year-old candidate has some serious political chops, effortlessly and effervescently pressing the flesh with his trademark toothy smile.

‘He’s very polished,’ Matt, in his early 30s told me as we watched him take a few questions from what seemed to be pre-chosen reporters. I tried to ask him one but was ignored in my Fox News Digital vest. But that was OK. I was more interested in asking Matt and his friends questions.

They had just stumbled upon the event, and when I asked Matt to expand a bit on his thought, he told me, ‘He looks and sounds like a politician.’ I asked if that was a good or bad thing He just smiled and shrugged, but then added, ‘He also looks really young.’

Matt’s friend Cam told me, ‘He has a lot of appeal to the young people,’ I couldn’t quite gather if the millennial included himself in that category. He went on to say, ‘and that’s good. It’s time for the young people’s ideas to be tried now.’

In chatting with a few of the soon-to-be canvassers, there was an almost joyous quality about them. ‘We are all just so excited for him,’ one told me. Another added: ‘I’ve never felt this way about a candidate before.’

The canvassers, mostly on the young side, looked much more like gentrifiers than lifelong residents of Harlem, but that is, after all, now also a part of the historic Black neighborhood’s 21st Century identity.

Andrew Cuomo needs not just to win the Black vote on Tuesday to have any chance, he needs it to come out in massive numbers. Chad, who I met on the corner outside a bodega was trying his best to help.

I noticed him when I caught the tail end of a yelling match with an older Black woman. I saw he was handing out flyers, and had assumed it was for Mamdani. In fact, he was out there pushing campaign materials for Cuomo.

He told me he had been in New York all his life, and he wasn’t ready for the kind of change Mamdani is proposing. ‘Free stuff,’ Chad said with disdain. ‘It takes money to keep the lights on…I’m sick of hearing about people getting stuff for free, free, free, what about the children? What about the educational system?’

I asked him about the confrontation with the woman and he said, ‘I get that all the time. Some people just hate him, and feel free to be abusive towards me.’

I told him to keep a stiff upper lip, that what he was doing was important and how democracy works. He said, ‘Thanks, I needed to hear that.’

I was glad I could be consoling, but also understood instantly what a warning sign for Cuomo his account was. If older Black women in Harlem are giving him the business for supporting the former governor, then Cuomo’s backstop may not be as secure as it seems.

At the end of the day, for better or worse, political campaigns run on enthusiasm. For as much clear good sense as Chad made in his defense of Cuomo, the enthusiasm gap I have seen in the last few days on the ground is Grand Canyon sized.

Maybe there is a silent majority, or in this case a plurality, ready to quietly pour into voting booths and fill in the little circle for Cuomo. But if so, at least thus far, they are doing a very good job of hiding.

During my final overseas CIA assignment as a station chief in a South Asian war zone, our team was ruthlessly focused on detecting and preempting terrorist threats long before they could inflict harm on the U.S. homeland. We conducted plenty of clandestine operations unilaterally, but we also worked in close partnership with the host government’s intelligence service. We did not always agree on everything, but we enjoyed a robust exchange of intelligence on our mutual adversaries, shared analytical judgments and collaborated on a number of joint tactical counterterrorism operations.

On one occasion, our CIA team successfully found and fixed the location of a senior al Qaeda terrorist on the FBI Most Wanted list for having planned terrorist attacks. We shared our sensitive intelligence with the host government, whose military launched a well-planned raid and killed the al Qaeda terrorist during a firefight.

If there was one thing I learned at CIA, especially when it came to counterterrorism operations, it’s that our allies can be a tremendous force multiplier for our sacred mission of keeping our country safe from those who seek to do us harm.

Today, the Trump administration is applying a similar strategy for ensuring secure critical minerals supply chains and de-risking from Communist China, which is the world’s leading miner and processor of rare earths. China has made it a practice of extorting its commercial adversaries by restricting its exports of critical minerals.

Rare earth minerals are essential for making semiconductors, motors and fighter jets, all critical for our national security. The last thing we would want is to have to rely on Communist China for the supply.

China’s brazenly unfair trade practices involve dumping on the global market its massive, excess production of rare earths deliberately to drive prices down and force competitor mining companies out of business, thereby eliminating any long-term competition.

But the Trump administration has deployed a counter playbook to reduce China’s influence over rare earth markets. Rightly concerned that China is seeking to control the global economy by imposing its will on the high technology supply chain, Trump recently signed an $8-billion rare-earth mineral deal with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. And during his recent trip to Asia, Trump signed rare earth deals with Thailand and Malaysia.

The Trump administration also deftly applies the same principle of de-risking to critical materials and minerals including polysilicon, a pure form of silicon essential for the production of microchips and integrated circuits. Seeking to minimize the risk of China’s dominant global market share of polysilicon, the Trump administration smartly relies on NATO member Germany for the bulk of our polysilicon imports.

Further, the Trump administration is investigating national security threats posed by imports from other countries, including, but not exclusively, those linked to China. China dominates global polysilicon through state subsidies, deliberate overproduction and other nefarious trade practices — a familiar Chinese Communist Party playbook used on strategic materials.

‘If an enemy has alliances,’ Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu wrote, ‘the problem is grave and the enemy’s position strong.’

The U.S. is leading the way by building a global network for key technology components, which are vital to protecting our national security from Communist Chinese mercantilist aggression.

Dictators like Chinese President Xi Jinping want their enemies to be weak and divided. That’s because together the U.S. and our commercial partners are stronger and more able to protect internationally recognized borders, freedom of navigation and free trade on which the U.S. and global economy rely.