Joe Rogan left podcast guest Michael Malice stunned after comparing Zohran Mamdani’s proposed New York City budget with spending for the entire state of Florida. The contrast became the central point of disbelief during a recent episode of Rogan’s podcast.

Florida has roughly three times the population of New York City, according to the figures presented in the discussion. Even with that much larger population, the state operates with a smaller budget than the city.

Malice, a podcaster and writer, appeared with his face painted during the episode. Rogan focused the conversation on the enormous difference in government spending between the two places.

Rogan said Mamdani was trying to determine how to use his budget, then emphasized that the proposed amount exceeded Florida’s entire budget. He repeatedly returned to the population gap while making the comparison.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look it up… New York City ’s budget… is more than the budget for the entire state of Florida, which has roughly three times as many people living in it,” Rogan said.

The figures Rogan presented placed the New York proposal at a record $127 billion. The proposal discussed on the podcast also included a 9.5% proposed property tax increase on New Yorkers and another $1.2 billion allocated for migrants.

Rogan read the description aloud with growing disbelief. The property tax increase was described as a last resort, while the migrant allocation prompted a particularly forceful response from the podcast host.

“Eye-popping amount… insider called ‘insanity’… a record $127 billion budget proposal… The socialist city leader’s plan includes a whopping 9.5% proposed property tax hike on New Yorkers, which he claims would be a last resort, while allocating another $1.2 billion for migrants. MIGRANTS!” Rogan read.

He then turned directly to the proposed Florida House budget figures. Those numbers ranged from $113.6 billion to $115 billion, leaving the New York City proposal above even the high end of that range.

“Yeah, triple per capita. So the Florida House budget is $113.6 billion to $115 billion (proposed), and the New York proposal is $127 billion. So it is more,” Rogan said.

Michael Malice is floored when Jamie confirms Zohran Mamdani's New York City budget is BIGGER than the entire state of Florida's.

Florida has THREE TIMES the people, and NYC still outspends it. ROGAN: "You see, Mamdani is trying to figure out a way to use his budget. His budget is higher than the budget of the entire state of Florida, which has three times more people." MALICE: "No, it's not. Is it really?" ROGAN: "Yes, it is. Yeah." MALICE: "No way!" ROGAN: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look it up... New York City's budget... is more than the budget for the entire state of Florida, which has roughly three times as many people living in it." MALICE: "Holy… is that true, Jamie?" ROGAN (reading): "Eye-popping amount… insider called 'insanity'… a record $127 billion budget proposal... The socialist city leader's plan includes a whopping 9.5% proposed property tax hike on New Yorkers, which he claims would be a last resort, while allocating another $1.2 billion for migrants. MIGRANTS!" MALICE: "What's the Florida budget, Jamie?" [Malice sees the numbers] MALICE: "HOLY SH*T!" ROGAN: "Yeah, triple per capita. So the Florida House budget is $113.6 billion to $115 billion (proposed), and the New York proposal is $127 billion. So it is more." MALICE: "Holy crap!" CONTEXT: New York City's current budget is $125,800,000,000 for about 8.5 million people. Florida's is $117,600,000,000 for about 23 million. That's roughly $14,800 per New Yorker versus $5,100 per Floridian. Of that, the city budgeted $1,200,000,000 for migrants this year. That's about $45,000 per migrant for the 26,500 living off taxpayer funds. — The Vigilant Fox (@VigilantFox) October 24, 2026

The current budget figures supplied as context showed a similar divide. New York City’s current budget was listed at $125,800,000,000 for a population of about 8.5 million people.

Florida’s budget was listed at $117,600,000,000 for approximately 23 million people. That means the state serves far more residents while spending less overall than New York City.

The difference becomes even sharper when calculated per resident. The provided figures work out to roughly $14,800 for each New Yorker, compared with about $5,100 for each Floridian.

That puts New York City’s spending at nearly three times Florida’s amount on a per-person basis. Rogan highlighted that disparity while confirming that the proposed New York City total was higher than Florida’s proposed state budget.

The discussion also distinguished the city’s current $125.8 billion budget from the $127 billion proposal. Both totals remain above the listed $117.6 billion Florida budget, despite the dramatic population difference between the city and the state.

Why would a budget of that size be considered insufficient for Mamdani’s plans? The prospect of seeking additional revenue from taxpayers rather than identifying programs that could be cut.

The proposed 9.5% property tax increase became another target of that criticism. Although described as a last resort, it would bring in more money from New Yorkers on top of an already larger budget than Florida’s.

Rogan’s simple comparison gave the conversation its most striking moment. One city with about 8.5 million people was considering $127 billion in spending, while a state with about 23 million people was considering between $113.6 billion and $115 billion.

For Rogan, the raw totals settled the matter. New York City’s proposal was not merely expensive per resident, but larger in absolute terms than the proposed budget for an entire state with roughly three times its population.

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