The U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that the federal government may restrict funding to New York City if Democratic-Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the upcoming mayoral election. Calling Mamdani a “communist,” Trump said on his social media platform that he would give New York only the “minimum required federal support” if the city chose a “radical” leader.
The comments drew sharp reactions from political observers and legal experts, who noted that federal funds cannot be withheld on political grounds under U.S. law. Mamdani, currently a New York State Assembly member of Indian-Ugandan origin, responded by saying the president’s statement “reveals his contempt for democracy” and reaffirmed that “federal support belongs to the people, not to any politician’s whim.”
Trump also endorsed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, calling him a “strong leader” capable of restoring order to the city, while urging Republican voters to rally behind him to defeat Mamdani. The mayoral race, once seen as a local contest, has now become a national flashpoint, symbolizing a larger ideological battle between progressives and conservatives. New York currently receives over $7 billion annually in federal funding, making Trump’s remarks politically charged and legally questionable just days before the election.
