Trump escalates attacks on Zohran Mamdani
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor delivered remarks at a primary victory celebration with leaders and members of the city's labor unions in Manhattan, New York, on July 2, 2025. Photo: Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
President Trump is ramping up his attacks on one of the GOP's newest targets, New York City's progressive mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
The big picture: The 33-year-old Democratic primary winner in the NYC mayoral primary has been hit with a barrage of attacks from the right ever since his win, with Trump and others attempting to frame him as a new face of "radical" Democrats.
- In social media posts after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded the race to Mamdani — who electrified a young, multiracial coalition in the primary — Trump blasted him as "a 100% Communist Lunatic" and "our future Communist Mayor of New York City."
- Mamdani has said he is "Donald Trump's worst nightmare" — and the president's barrage of attacks does little to dispute that.
Driving the news: In a vague Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump vowed he would not "let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York," saying he holds "all the levers" and "all the cards."
- He continued, "I'll save New York City, and make it "Hot" and "Great" again, just like I did with the Good Ol' USA!"
Trump on Tuesday said he would arrest Mamdani if he doesn't allow federal immigration officials to arrest immigrants in the city.
- Mamdani vowed in a speech after his historic victory to "stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors." Asked for his response, Trump replied, "Well then, we'll have to arrest him."
- He also baselessly questioned Mamdani's citizenship status on Tuesday, saying, "A lot of people are saying he's here illegally." Mamdani was born in Uganda and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018.
- In an interview aired Sunday on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Trump doubled down on his prior assertion that Mamdani is a communist (which Mamdani has denied) and said the Democratic nominee must "do the right thing" if he's elected or he'll withhold federal funding.
The other side: Trump's war of words and threats have been mostly one-sided, though Mamdani has pushed back.
- Responding to Trump's threat to arrest him, Mamdani said the president wants to "distract from what I fight for."
- "I fight for working people," he said. "I fight for the very people that have been priced out of this city, and I fight for the same people that he said he was fighting for."
- In a statement shared to X, Mamdani wrote, "We will not accept this intimidation."
Zoom out: Mamdani's win prompted an avalanche of Islamophobic rhetoric, including from GOP lawmakers, one of whom called for Mamdani to be denaturalized and deported.
- His surprise victory also shook the Democratic establishment, while others see him as a breath of fresh air juxtaposed with the party's old guard.
- Mamdani, who has denounced antisemitism and has promised to be a mayor for all New Yorkers, told MSNBC that he sees his win as "an opportunity for me to introduce the fact that being Muslim is like being a member of any other faith."
