President Donald Trump has threatened New York City with a loss in federal funds if self-proclaimed democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of the nation’s largest city.
In a statement posted to Truth Social Monday, Trump described Mamdani as a “Communist” and warned that if elected, the mayoral candidate “is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City.” He stressed that “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?” Trump asked, indicating that he plans to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani wins the election. “This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that’s guaranteed!”
Trump’s post comes five weeks before the New York City mayoral election. A major development unfolded in the race over the weekend as Mayor Eric Adams, the incumbent Democrat running for re-election as an independent, withdrew from the race.
Adams’ exit from the race leaves three major candidates vowing to become mayor of the most populous city in the United States: Mamdani, Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani, is now running as an independent.
The RealClearPolitics average of polls taken since Aug. 11 shows Mamdani with a consistent lead that falls short of a majority. Mamdani is in first place with 44.4% support, followed by Cuomo at 25.4%, Sliwa at 13.8% and Adams at 8.4%.
In addition to embracing unapologetically progressive proposals such as taxpayer funding for gender transition procedures and abortion, Mamdani’s campaign calls for implementing policies critics condemn as economically ruinous. His campaign platform includes the establishment of “city-owned grocery stores, whose mission is lower prices, not price gouging.”
“These stores will operate without a profit motive or having to pay property taxes or rent, and will pass on those savings to you,” Mamdani’s campaign has insisted. “They’ll partner with small businesses and nearby farms and sell at wholesale prices.”
Critics of the proposal argue that it will be unsuccessful, citing the example of a government-run grocery store in Kansas City, Missouri, which closed in August amid financial woes. Mamdani rejects these concerns, acknowledging that while government-run grocery stores will cost $60 million, the city will spend “$140 million subsidizing corporate supermarket chains without any guarantee of affordability from that subsidy” regardless.
Mamdani sees the government-run grocery stores as necessary to counter “out of control” grocery prices. Another economic policy proposal of Mamdani’s, the establishment of a $30-per-hour minimum wage, is also causing blowback and concern. The minimum wage hike would constitute a substantial increase from the current minimum wage of $16.50 in the city.
An additional provision of Mamdani’s agenda involves making New York City the “strongest sanctuary city in the country.” While Trump did not elaborate on the amount of money or the type of funding he would withhold from New York City, his administration has made defunding sanctuary cities a top priority.
In a statement posted to Truth Social earlier this year, Trump announced that he was “working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding” from cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
