Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected Democratic nominee in New York City’s mayoral race, sharply criticised US President Donald Trump Wednesday, calling his threats to arrest, deport and denaturalise him “an attack on democracy” and a deliberate attempt to divert attention from economic issues facing working-class Americans.
“Yesterday, Donald Trump said that I should be arrested. He said that I should be deported. He said I said that I should be denaturalised. And he said those things about me, someone who stands to be the first immigrant mayor of this city in generations, someone who would also be the first Muslim and the first South Asian mayor in this city’s history, less so because of who I am, because of where I come from, because of how I look or how I speak, and more so because he wants to distract from what I fight for,” said Mamdani at a rally in Manhattan.
Emphasising his commitment to fighting for the rights of working-class New Yorkers, the 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist said that Trump was fanning the flames of division.
“I fight for the same people that he said he was fighting for. This is the same president who ran on a campaign of cheaper groceries, who ran on a campaign about easing the suffocating cost-of-living crisis. And ultimately, it is easier for him to fan the flames of division than to acknowledge the ways in which he has betrayed those working-class Americans,” he said.
Donald Trump is attacking me because he is desperate to distract from his war on working people. We must and we will fight back. pic.twitter.com/pKEwnijJaG
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) July 2, 2025
Trump vows to ‘save New York City’ from ‘Communist lunatic’ Mamdani
Mamdani’s fresh rebuke comes in response to Trump’s vile remarks against the New York City mayoral candidate, where he called him a “Communist Lunatic” and vowed to save the city from his leadership.
Taking to his Truth Social account, Trump wrote, “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!”
Trump had also referred to Mamdani as a “pure, true communist” and “total nut job”, claiming he would “have a lot of fun with him” if elected.
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Mamdani, who became the Democratic nominee for mayor on Tuesday, would be New York City’s first Muslim mayor if elected in November. The 33-year-old state assemblyman and self-proclaimed democratic socialist secured a clear victory over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, winning 56 per cent to Cuomo’s 44 per cent in the final round of ranked-choice voting.
He was born in Uganda to Indian-origin parents and became a US citizen in 2018.
(With inputs from agencies)