Erika Kirk details moment she saw Charlie in the hospital after he was shot
Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk sat down with “Jesse Watters Primetime” for her first TV interview since the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk. In the emotional interview, Kirk recalled what it was like seeing her husband lying in the hospital after he was fatally shot in September.
“He had this smirk on his face. That smirk. That smirk to me is that look of ‘you thought you could stop what I’ve built. You thought that you could end this vision, this movement, this revival, you thought you could do that by murdering me. You got my body, you didn’t get my soul,'” Kirk told Fox News’ Jesse Watters nearly two months after her husband was assassinated.
In the interview, Kirk addressed life after her husband’s death, including the Jimmy Kimmel controversy, the defense’s request to keep cameras out of the courtroom and her daughter’s questions about Charlie.
‘I MARRIED THE LOVE OF MY LIFE’: ERIKA KIRK WEEPS WHILE WATCHING VIDEO OF LATE HUSBAND
“You told your children that Charlie was going on a work trip with Jesus. Are they still asking ‘where’s daddy’?” Watters asked Kirk.
“Yes, my daughter continues to ask, but it’s really sweet, because I keep explaining to her a few things,” Kirk told Watters. “I said if ever you want to talk to daddy, you just look up to the sky and start talking to him. He can hear you. It’s always good. And I told her, I said, you know, ‘Daddy, daddy is in heaven.’ She goes, ‘Do you think I could go sometime?’ I said, ‘Baby, we will all go one day. We will all go one day.'”
Since her husband’s assassination, Kirk said she has refused to live in fear. She told Watters, “I’m not afraid, Charlie wasn’t afraid either. We never lived in fear. If we did, we wouldn’t get anything done.”
ERIKA KIRK DOUBLES DOWN TO FIGHT FOR CHARLIE’S LEGACY: ‘I’M NOT AFRAID’
On Thursday, Kirk will receive the first-ever Charlie Kirk Legacy Award at the seventh annual Fox Nation Patriot Awards at The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, New York.
Kirk has lived much of her adult life in the public eye — first as Miss Arizona USA, later as a ministry leader and entrepreneur, and most recently as the grieving widow of TPUSA’s iconic founder. The Kirks’ love story, rooted in prayer and purpose, shaped not only their marriage but the movement he built, a legacy Erika now carries forward after Charlie’s death.
ERIKA KIRK TELLS HUSBAND’S AUDIENCE TO ‘BUCKLE UP’ AS SHE PROMISES COUNTLESS HOURS OF UNSEEN CONTENT
Erika and Charlie met in 2018 and then had a “very long dinner.” Charlie said that he knew “almost immediately” that she was the one.
Erika posted a selfie of her and Charlie on Sept. 5, 2023, marking five years since the two met. She wrote, “5 years ago today, we sat inside Bill’s Burgers in NYC deep in conversation and banter over theology, philosophy, and politics and at the end, you paused, looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to date you.’”
Both Erika and Charlie spoke openly about the importance of dating with intention, something they said they did when they met.
Charlie proposed to Erika in December 2020. She captioned photos of the engagement on Instagram, “When God writes your love story, you get to marry your best friend.” The two married less than a year later in May 2021.
In a post with their wedding photos, Erika wrote, “To the man I’ve been praying for, before I ever met you. [T]o the man that I honor, respect, and deeply cherish. [T]o the man that leads in ways that remind me of the leaders before our time and [whose] confidence in God’s word reminds me of Daniel… [T]o the man that I am immeasurably blessed to be able to call my husband. My CJK. I love you, [Charlie].”
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Fox News viewers can catch Kirk’s full emotional tell-all interview with Watters on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
The hidden reason New Yorkers voted for a socialist — and it’s not what you think
Zohran Mamdani just became mayor of New York City, a self-described socialist leading America’s most capitalist city.
To some, that sounds like proof that the far left is taking over.
But that’s not what happened.
SOCIALIST SHOCKWAVE: ZOHRAN MAMDANI STUNS NYC AS VOTERS HAND POWER TO DEMOCRATS’ FAR-LEFT FLANK
Mamdani didn’t win because New York suddenly fell in love with socialism.
He won because he captured something every politician should be listening to right now — a deep frustration that the system doesn’t feel fair anymore.
And here’s the twist: That frustration isn’t confined to struggling families or low-income voters. It’s spreading among people who are doing fine — the educated, ambitious, upwardly mobile professionals who were supposed to be living the dream but can’t shake the feeling that they’re falling behind.
The New Rebellion of the Comfortable
There’s a growing class of New Yorkers who don’t fit our usual political categories. They’re not the working poor or the wealthy elite. They’re somewhere in between.
They’ve done everything right — the schools, the hours, the hustle — and yet they still feel stuck.
Rents climb faster than salaries. Taxes eat away their paychecks. Buying a home feels impossible.
They’re not broke. They’re just burned out.
They’ve stopped believing that hard work automatically leads to stability, let alone success.
My business partner, Michael Maslansky, very cleverly calls them the Richlanté, rich vigilantes of fairness.
They don’t want handouts. They want honesty.
They don’t trust the system, but they’re still trying to make it work.
Mamdani saw them before anyone else did.
He didn’t talk like a career politician; he sounded like someone who actually understood their frustration.
What They’re Really Rebelling Against
New York used to run on ambition. It was the city of hustle, where, if you gave everything, you could climb.
But that promise feels broken now.
Even people with good jobs feel like they’re running faster just to stay in place.
Their success doesn’t feel secure. Their effort doesn’t feel rewarded.
It’s not guilt. It’s exhaustion.
It’s grief for a city that once rewarded work with upward mobility and now feels like it rewards luck, leverage or connections instead.
Mamdani gave that frustration a name.
He told them, “You’re right — the deal’s been broken. Let’s fix it.”
He didn’t offer a revolution. He offered recognition.
And in a city this tired, that was enough.
The Trump Parallel Conservatives Should Notice
If that sounds familiar, it should.
Because it’s the same emotion that powered Donald Trump’s rise.
Trump gave voice to working-class Americans who felt forgotten by elites.
Mamdani gave voice to affluent New Yorkers who feel abandoned by opportunity.
Different neighborhoods. Same feeling.
Both men understood the most powerful message in politics: The system is rigged — and I’m the one who’ll unrig it.
They just offered different answers.
Trump promised to tear down what he saw as corruption and complacency.
Mamdani promised to rebuild fairness from the ground up.
But the root emotion — betrayal — was identical.
Why Republicans Should Pay Attention
Republicans shouldn’t dismiss Mamdani’s victory as a far-left fluke. They should study it.
He didn’t win because of ideology. He won because of empathy.
Because he made frustrated voters — including some who make six figures — feel heard.
FORMER TRUMP OFFICIAL WARNS MAMDANI VICTORY WOULD MARK ‘MARXIST SHIFT’ FOR NEW YORK CITY
That’s what conservatives used to do best. Ronald Reagan did it. Trump did it.
The right spoke the language of effort, fairness and dignity — that, if you worked hard, you deserved a fair shot.
That message still wins.
But voters don’t hear it as clearly anymore.
If the GOP can reclaim it — if conservatives can speak credibly about fairness, not just freedom — they can reach the same voters who just handed Mamdani a win.
The Bigger Picture
Mamdani’s victory isn’t proof that New York has turned socialist.
It’s proof that voters across income levels are tired of feeling unseen and unheard.
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They’re not rejecting capitalism. They’re demanding that it keep its promises.
They’re not asking for special treatment. They’re asking for fair play.
The side that understands that first — and speaks to it with honesty — will win not just New York, but the future.
Bottom Line
New York didn’t vote for socialism.
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It voted for fairness.
And that’s something both parties should take seriously — before frustration becomes the only platform anyone can run on.
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Ramaswamy reveals ‘key lessons’ for Republicans after electoral blowout
Following a night of Democratic electoral victories in New York City, Virginia, New Jersey, California and elsewhere, one-time GOP presidential candidate and former DOGE chief Vivek Ramaswamy admitted, “We got our a–es handed to us.”
Ramaswamy, who is running for Ohio governor, said there are two “key lessons” for Republicans to take away from the Election Day blowout.
“We got our a–es handed to us in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City. Democrats swept all three,” said Ramaswamy.
“There’s two key lessons for Republicans, listen carefully,” he went on.
OHIO DONORS DITCH TIM RYAN, POUR NEARLY $220K INTO VIVEK RAMASWAMY’S GOVERNOR BID
In light of the GOP’s crushing defeats Tuesday night, Ramaswamy said that Republicans need to focus their messaging on affordability and avoid playing into “identity politics.”
“Our side needs to focus on affordability. Make the American dream affordable, bring down costs: electric costs, grocery costs, healthcare costs and housing costs. And lay out how we’re going to do it,” he said.
“Number two, cut out the identity politics, it doesn’t suit Republicans, it’s not for us, that’s the woke left’s game, not ours,” Ramaswamy went on.
“We don’t care about the color of your skin or your religion. We care about the content of your character, that’s who we are,” he said.
TRUMP IGNORES ELECTIONS AS DEMOCRATS STUMBLE ON THE WAY TO LIKELY VICTORIES
Republicans suffered decisive defeats in several key races across the country on Tuesday night. This came despite several of the Democratic candidates being wrapped in controversy and scandal.
In Virginia, Democrat Jay Jones successfully unseated Republican incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares. Just weeks before Election Day, Jones had to apologize for resurfaced text messages he sent a colleague in which he fantasized about putting “two bullets” in the head of a Republican opponent. Jones also sent messages voicing that he believed the Republican’s “fascist” children should die.
In New Jersey, now Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill was also caught up in controversy over her alleged role in a massive cheating scandal during her time at the U.S. Naval Academy. Sherrill was not accused of cheating. However, she said she was kept from participating in her commencement because she refused to divulge information on some of those involved. A former classmate of Sherrill’s, meanwhile, suggested that she was not being honest about the extent of her involvement in the scandal.
TRUMP REACTS TO DEMOCRATIC VICTORIES, SUGGESTS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS TO BLAME
Ramaswamy left Ohio for short stints in recent weeks to stump for now-defeated GOP gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia and Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey.
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At the time, Ramaswamy said GOP victories in both elections would “set the table for even bigger and more decisive victories, hopefully in places like Ohio next year.”
Former CIA operative warns of ‘sex spies’ targeting Americans, reveals one key red flag
A former CIA operative says that China and Russia are sending “sex spies” to the United States with goals of stealing the country’s technology and state secrets as they engage in psychological warfare.
J. Michael Waller told Fox News Digital he has seen firsthand how America’s biggest adversaries, like China and Russia, are using honeypot tactics to steal secrets or compromise politicians as a dirty way to stay ahead of the U.S. While Waller was doing work for the CIA in Poland, he said that a Chinese woman around 25 years old approached him and seemed interested in the work he was doing.
After talking with her more, Waller realized she was a spy and reported the woman to Polish authorities, as she was a government employee at the time. Waller said the Polish government “threw her out of the country within days.”
In his personal experience, Waller said the Chinese spy “knew about my background already and even stuff that wasn’t in my official bio for the event.”
THINK TANK FOUNDER FACES SCRUTINY OVER CHINA CORPORATE TIES DESPITE DECOUPLING ADVOCACY
“They take advantage of the fact that people are lonely or just want to have a good time or, you know, need company or whatever else,” Waller said. “They do what’s been done since biblical times. They use sex as a weapon.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. government banned employees and personnel working in China from having romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens. The policy was implemented by former U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns, who put the policy into place before leaving his post when President Donald Trump took office in January.
U.S. government personnel who violate the policy will be forced to leave China.
CHINA ACCUSES US OF YEARSLONG CYBERATTACK ON NATIONAL TIME SERVICE
Waller said the practice is a form of psychological warfare because “you’re messing with people’s heads,” adding China will target professionals such as engineers, programmers, local officials, mayors or other politicians.
“They’ll go for a very long term with these sexual recruitments and develop long-term emotional relations, at least get the other side, get the target emotionally attached, to the point of even marrying them and having families with them,” he said. “That’s what they’re schooled to do.”
Aliia Roza, a former Russian “sex spy,” recently told the New York Post that foreign agents are targeting Silicon Valley in order to gain access to emerging technology and trade secrets.
FORMER RUSSIAN SEX SPY SAYS SHE WAS TRAINED AS A ‘MASTER MANIPULATOR’
“It starts with love bombing — messages full of compliments, selfies, bikini photos,” Roza said. “They pretend to be weak or alone: ‘My parents were killed, I’m a student, I’m broke.’ It triggers the hero instinct. Every man wants to feel like the rescuer.”
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The former CIA operative gave one piece of advice for Americans:
“If someone from China who’s super, super hot is really interested in you and you’re nowhere near in that league — she’s a spy,” Waller said.
Harrowing video shows ‘catastrophic’ UPS plane disaster that killed at least 9
Dramatic video shows the terrifying moment a UPS plane loaded with fuel crashed at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport Tuesday, producing a massive and deadly fireball.
The video, taken from inside a vehicle on a nearby road, shows a huge plume of black and gray smoke towering into the sky, visible for miles.
The driver in the vehicle where the footage was filmed can be heard shouting in shock as flames billow and consume what remains of the aircraft on the runway and with another plane visible in front.
SMALL AIRCRAFT PLUMMETS INTO GEORGIA NEIGHBORHOOD, LEAVES 3 INJURED
The fireball expands rapidly, rippling through the air as emergency sirens wail faintly in the distance.
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Debris appears scattered across the tarmac as emergency crews rush toward the wreckage.
The person filming also shouts in terror as the video captures the scale of the disaster before news of the crash sent shock through the community.
According to the FAA, the plane crashed around 5:15 p.m. during takeoff, bound for Honolulu.
The crash killed at least seven people and injured at least 11 others.
SMALL AIRCRAFT PLUMMETS INTO GEORGIA NEIGHBORHOOD, LEAVES 3 INJURED
“UPS Flight 2976, carrying three crew members, crashed at about 5:14 p.m. ET onto the roof of the Kentucky Petroleum Recycling building after departing from SDF,” Gov. Andy Beshear said during a news conference Tuesday evening.
“At least two employees at nearby business Grade A Auto Parts are unaccounted for,” Beshear added, calling the incident “catastrophic.”
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Both the FAA and NTSB are investigating the cause of the accident.
Authorities issued a shelter-in-place order for nearby neighborhoods due to the heavy smoke and debris.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Fire Department for comment.
Trump and first lady groove to rapper’s mashup on official White House TikTok
Nicki Minaj just got the ultimate surprise from the president.
The official White House TikTok account posted a video featuring President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump with the viral mashup of Minaj’s song “Beez in the Trap” and “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes.
In the video, the two could be seen walking hand in hand during various engagements, as well as dancing on the White House balcony and at the inauguration, as the mashup of the two songs played in the background.
NICKI MINAJ SPEAKS OUT ON ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP: ‘I USED TO THINK LOVE HAD TO HURT’
The 42-year-old rapper took to X to share her excitement over the president using her video, writing, “The President & First Lady of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Barbz, idk which one of you uploaded this to the white house TikTok but just know unlimited backstage GAG CITY FOR LIFE.”
She added, “Idk what timeline we’re on right now, I’m just goin w|the flow.”
Fans of Minaj took to the TikTok comments section to share their excitement, writing, “The Nicki and Trump collab we didn’t know we needed,” and “Nicki Minaj and President Trump teaming up was not on my 2025 bingo card.”
In October, a video of President Trump’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, participating in the popular social media trend with her friend, reached Minaj, who went on to repost it on her X account, adding three emojis, including a heart and a laughing face.
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Kai later posted another video of her and her friend participating in the trend once again, this time captioning the video, “Us because Nicki Minaj saw our TikTok 😆.”
Minaj’s praise of the video comes after she complimented the president for addressing persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
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“Reading this made me feel a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God. No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion. We don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other,” Minaj wrote on X.
“Numerous countries all around the world are being affected by this horror [and] it’s dangerous to pretend we don’t notice,” she continued. “Thank you to the president [and] his team for taking this seriously. God bless every persecuted Christian. Let’s remember to lift them up in prayer.”
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“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote in his post on Truth Social on Friday.
“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world!”
Hunter missing for weeks in West Coast wilderness found alive by fellow hunters
An experienced hunter who vanished in the California wilderness for 20 days has been found alive by another group of hunters in what authorities are calling “nothing short of a miracle.”
Selma resident Ron Dailey, 65, was discovered Saturday along the Swamp Lake Trail in the Sierra National Forest, according to a statement from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
Dailey, who has underlying medical conditions, had been missing since Oct. 13, when he failed to return from a hunting trip near Shaver Lake, prompting a massive search-and-rescue operation, officials said.
After his grueling trek — during which Dailey reportedly went six days without food as his legs began to give out — Dailey’s wife, Glenda, said he has since received medical treatment.
MOUNTAIN BIKERS FIND MISSING HIKER WANDERING WILDERNESS IN UNDERWEAR
“The hospital staff are pumping him with fluids, and his color is coming back,” Glenda said in a statement on social media. “He’s going to be shocked when I show him all the people who helped look for him,” she added.
The Fresno County Search and Rescue Posse said that after navigating difficult terrain and spending countless hours searching, members called the news of his recovery an absolute miracle.
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“Ron’s safe return is nothing short of a miracle,” the agency said in a statement. “May it remind us all of the value of every life, the strength of unity, and the calling to serve our neighbors in their greatest hour of need.”
On the morning of Oct. 13, officials said Dailey, known to travel down small roads and dirt paths, left home to head to the Shaver Lake and Courtright Reservoir area in Fresno County.
In a recording shared by his family, Dailey recounted driving his 2002 silver Dodge Dakota up the Swamp Lake Trail, reaching the top safely and stopping to snack on some jerky and a handful of nuts, ABC News reported.
CALIFORNIA MAN RESCUED BY HELICOPTER AFTER SPENDING TWO DAYS TRAPPED BEHIND WATERFALL
He then reportedly drove down a “jeep road,” where he realized he could not turn back and became stuck, forcing him to continue farther down the trail.
“I don’t know why, but I did,” Dailey said in the recording.
Despite following trail signs, Dailey said the rough terrain tore up his truck, leading him to remain on a “rocky plateau” for several days, ABC News reported.
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The outlet said he later reached a flat section of the trail, where he proceeded to jack up his truck to level it as well as remove the passenger seat to create a place to rest — a setup he described as “very uncomfortable.”
After several days, Dailey realized he would have to abandon his truck and continue on foot, the outlet added. He described the trek, at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet, as the “toughest walk I’ve ever done in my life,” saying he had to stop every hundred yards just to catch his breath.
“This is it, Ron, you either try to get out or you sit here and die,” Dailey recounted telling himself, according to the recording.
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During the trek, Dailey reportedly fell twice and eventually lost his cellphone. At one point, he stopped to pray.
“You gotta send somebody up here to me. I can hardly walk anymore,” Dailey said in the recording as he was holding back tears, according to ABC News.
In a miraculous moment, Dailey said he then saw the headlights of a car and raised his hands in the air, the station added.
When the hunters recognized him, he reportedly “started hugging them and praying.” They gave him food and water after he told them it had been six days since he had last eaten.
“To the men who went down that road and found him, I am eternally grateful for you; I cannot wait to see you,” Glenda said, while also crediting every volunteer “who never gave up” in searching for Dailey.
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“There are so many Family members, friends and people we do not even know that were looking and we are so thankful to all of you! God still does miracles, and we have just been shown one.”
Officials said Dailey’s safe return should “remind us of the value of every life, the strength of unity and the calling to serve our neighbors in their greatest hour of need.”
Smoking banned for entire generation under sweeping new national law
Anyone living in the Maldives born after Jan. 1, 2007, may be affected by the first-ever generational smoking ban.
On Nov. 1, a new law — proposed by the country’s President Mohamed Muizzu earlier this year — took effect in the country, banning an entire generation from smoking, purchasing or using tobacco.
In a press release, the Ministry of Health called it a “historic milestone in the nation’s efforts to protect public health and promote a tobacco-free generation.”
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The ban applies to all forms of tobacco, and retailers are required to verify the age of users prior to any sale.
The Maldives also maintains a complete ban on the import, sale, distribution, possession and use of electronic cigarettes and vaping products, regardless of age.
“The Generational Ban on Tobacco reflects the Government’s strong commitment to protecting young people from the harms of tobacco,” the Ministry added in the statement.
The World Health Organization has called tobacco use an “epidemic” and “one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.”
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The WHO’s data shows that tobacco use is responsible for over seven million deaths annually, as well as disability and long-term suffering from tobacco-related diseases.
“All forms of tobacco use are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco,” the agency states.
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The organization added that cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide.
The Maldives is the first country to see a generational smoking ban come to fruition, although New Zealand proposed a ban that would have outlawed tobacco sales to those born after Jan. 1, 2009, starting in 2024.
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Before the ban could take effect, however, it was struck down in 2023.
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Britain is currently considering a similar law, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which, if passed, would prohibit anyone born after Jan. 1, 2009, from buying tobacco products or vapes.
Election anxiety triggers $100M wave of NYC buyers heading south
Election anxiety in New York City has turned into a real estate windfall in South Florida.
Developer Isaac Toledano, CEO of Miami-based BH Group, told Fox News Digital that his company has closed more than $100 million in signed contracts from New York buyers in just the past few months – about twice last year’s volume.
“I think the election accelerated how people make decisions,” Toledano said. “I think people are nervous [for] what’s coming, how it’s going to affect their lifestyle, the quality of life, taxes, potential of crime [or] no crime.”
“This unknown in what’s coming, and the fact that Mamdani said loud and clear what he’s going to do and what he believes is the right thing for New York, make[s] a lot of people very nervous,” he continued.
MUSK SLAMS MAMDANI AS ‘CHARISMATIC SWINDLER,’ WARNS POLICIES WOULD HURT QUALITY OF LIFE IN N.Y.C
Toledano noted that the sales surge his real estate firm has seen is not surprising, but the figure is “higher than expected.” The CEO also reports that the New York buyers migrating south are “becoming very aggressive” with their decision-making.
“The good news is that a lot of the buyers in this market [are] coming wealthier, stronger financially. A lot of people made a lot of money in the last five, six years in the stock market, crypto, online businesses. So people are coming to Florida when their pockets are full and bank accounts, and their stock portfolio is doing really good.”
Earlier this year, Henley & Partners’ World’s Wealthiest Cities Report for 2025 found that both West Palm Beach and Miami surpassed New York City as the world’s fastest-growing wealth hubs. West Palm saw a 112% increase in millionaire growth over the last decade, while Miami saw a 94% increase. New York fell much shorter, around 40%.
A more recent analysis by The Times reported that independent estimates around Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s overall platform may cost New York City’s economy $10 billion annually.
Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Mamdani has pitched a sweeping agenda aimed at reshaping New York City’s economy and social contract. Among his boldest promises are instituting free city buses, building 200,000 new affordable housing units over 10 years, raising the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030, expanding universal child care, creating city-run grocery stores and imposing significant tax increases on corporations and the top 1% of earners, according to his website.
Uncertainty over the mayoral election results, Toledano says, has created a rush to Florida’s luxury market — one he doesn’t see slowing down.
“We saw a few articles with thousands of police officers saying they’re going to quit or resign,” Toledano said. “The fact that people have to deal with this stress daily for them, for their kids, for their families, puts them in a position that they need to make a decision. It’s not a secret that for the last 20 years, a lot of New Yorkers [are] moving to Florida, buying their homes, second homes, come to Florida for vacations. And I think that what we saw in the last five, six years, it will grow and will get stronger and this positive momentum will continue.”
“We’re definitely ready,” Toledano continued. “If this thing is going to happen and we’re going to see this big wave of New Yorkers and companies relocating, across our portfolio we have a lot of branded residences, luxury condos, mixed-use projects … We welcome our friends and investors and buyers from New York to come to Florida.“
The developer emphasized safety and freedom as Florida’s strongest draw and a clear contrast to northern cities.
“We offer stability, the freedom to grow,” he said, “the fact that you can walk at night with expensive watch on your hand, driving an expensive car, go to a restaurant, walk on the street, have a coffee at 11 o’clock at night and nobody will disturb you … The law is very strong here … people feel safe.”
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As New York buyers represent a new kind of investor – decisive, liquid and ready to move – Toledano isn’t just betting on political tides, but Florida’s long-term evolution.
“At the end of the day, we welcome everybody, regardless if they are from New York or any other part of the world,” he said. “Florida is a great place. It’s a great place for your families, for your businesses, for your future.”
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