[Video below.] President Donald Trump weighed in Wednesday on the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, offering both a warning and a note of reluctant goodwill. “I’m so torn because I would like to see the new mayor do well because I love New York. I really love New York,” Trump told Bret Baier during an interview on Fox News.
The president reflected on the city’s trajectory over the years, recalling, “When I left New York for Washington, New York was doing really well, but there were some bad signs. The bad sign was a guy named [former mayor Bill] de Blasio. So the signs of de Blasio, that was the beginning, and it was bad.”
Trump also questioned Mamdani’s ideology, taking aim at his political philosophy. “For a thousand years, the concept of communism has not worked. I tend to doubt it’s going to work this time…no, it’s literally never worked,” he said.
When asked if he had watched Mamdani’s victory address, Trump didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I thought it was a very angry speech, certainly angry toward me. And I think he should be very nice to me. You know, I’m the one that sort of has to approve a lot of things coming to him. So he’s off to a bad start.”
The exchange came just days after a tense election cycle in which Trump publicly endorsed independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, warning voters that New York City could face “severe federal funding cuts” should Mamdani take office.
This wasn’t Trump’s first time taking aim at the newly elected mayor. Back in July, he vowed that he would not let the “communist lunatic” Mamdani “destroy New York.” Earlier, he had dismissed Mamdani as unfit to lead, saying, “I think he’s terrible. He’s a communist. The last thing we need is a communist. I think I’m going to have a lot of fun watching him because he has to come right through this building to get his money.”
Mamdani, for his part, wasted no time firing back on election night. Speaking to an energized crowd, he addressed Trump directly: “So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”
The new mayor also took aim at the wealthy elite, declaring, “We will hold bad landlords to account because the Donald Trumps of our city have grown far too comfortable taking advantage of their tenants. We will put an end to the culture of corruption that has allowed billionaires like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks.”
Promising to champion workers’ rights, Mamdani continued, “We will stand alongside unions and expand labor protections because we know, just as Donald Trump does, that when working people have ironclad rights, the bosses who seek to extort them become very small indeed.”
He closed his remarks by celebrating his immigrant roots and vowing solidarity with New Yorkers from all backgrounds. “New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” said Mamdani, who was born in Uganda.
“So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. When we enter City Hall in 58 days, expectations will be high. We will meet them.”
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