United States President Donald Trump has launched a scathing verbal attack on New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, branding him a “communist lunatic” and vowing to block him from what he described as an attempt to “destroy New York.”
In a post published on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump declared: “As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!”
The attack followed remarks made by Trump during an immigration roundtable event at the New Florida Detention Facility. There, he doubled down on his criticism of Mamdani, describing the Democratic candidate as a “pure, true communist” and a “total nut job.”
Trump also hinted at legal action, saying Mamdani could be arrested if he interferes with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in New York City. “Well then, we’ll just have to arrest him,” he said.
Mamdani, a New York State Assemblymember and outspoken progressive, responded defiantly.
“The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported,” he said in a statement. “Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorise our city.”
He further accused Trump of attempting to intimidate New Yorkers who speak out against federal immigration enforcement. “This is an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadow: if you speak up, they will come for you.”
Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to South Asian parents, immigrated to the United States in 1998 at the age of seven.
He became a naturalised US citizen in 2018 and has served in the New York State Assembly. Despite this, his legal status has now been brought into public discourse amid growing political tensions.
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