Zohran Mamdani Claps Back After Trump Threatens To Withhold Federal Funding To NYC If He Becomes Mayor

Zohran Mamdani—the Democratic Socialist New York City mayoral candidate who stunned the establishment with a seismic win for progressives that has reverberated across the country—criticized President Donald Trump's threats to withhold federal funds if Mamdani wins November's election.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Mamdani a "New York City Communist" and said he "will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party."

He added:

"He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises."

"He won't be getting any of it, so what's the point of voting for him? This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that's guaranteed!"

You can see Trump's post below.

@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

Mamdani, undeterred, spoke with CNN’s Erin Burnett, who pressed Mamdani on whether he was “OK if New York City loses” the $7.4 billion it receives in federal funding annually.

Mamdani said "no," adding:

"We will fight for every single dollar that the city currently receives from the federal government."

"I look for examples across this country that showcase the best way to respond to Donald Trump’s... threats is responding with strength."

"And what we see in California is an attorney general of the state has estimated that for every dollar they spent on lawsuits against the federal government’s threats to withhold funding, they won more than $30,000 in what would otherwise have been lost.”

"And so we will take that same approach."

Mamdani later added that Trump is “going through the many stages of grief,” adding:

"First, it’s denial that this could ever take place. Now it’s acceptance. And still through it all, he is looking to use every tool at his disposal to help Andrew Cuomo become the next mayor of the city.”

You can hear what he said in the video below.

Many have stood behind Mamdani in response, criticizing Trump and rejecting his threats to upend New York City's upcoming election.

Mamdani has faced relentless attacks from Republicans since he soared to national prominence, notably from Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles, who urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to denaturalize and deport Mamdani over a lyric in a rap song Mamdani released in 2017 that emphasizes his pro-Palestine stance.

Trump has previously derided Mamdani as a "communist" and said Mamdani must "do the right thing" should he win the mayoralty, or risk losing federal funding. Trump said "whoever's mayor of New York is going to have to behave themselves or the federal government is coming down very tough on them financially."

With about 5 weeks left until Election Day, it appears Trump is not waiting for the Mayor's race results to withhold federal funding from New York City. On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Trump's Department of Transportation would be withholding $18 billion in federal infrastructure funds previously allocated for "the Second Avenue subway line and the construction of new commuter train tunnels under the Hudson River, a $16 billion project known as Gateway."