Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to cut New York City off from federal funds if favored mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, “doesn’t behave himself” should he be elected.
Mamdani, meanwhile, denied that he was – as the president said – a communist. But he reaffirmed his commitment to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers while saying: “I don’t think that we should have billionaires.”
In an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, Trump argued that a Mamdani victory was “inconceivable” because he perceived the candidate to be “a pure communist”.
He added: “Let’s say this – if he does get in, I’m going to be president, and he’s going to have to do the right thing, or they’re not getting any money. He’s got to do the right thing or they’re not getting any money.”
More than $100bn flows to the city from the federal government through different entities and programs, according to the city’s comptroller last year.
Speaking Sunday with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Mamdani said, “no, I am not” a communist.
He also said that he had “already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am – ultimately because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for”.
Mamdani said he was inspired by the US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr, who once remarked: “Call it democracy or call it democratic socialism. There has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country.”
He then reiterated his intent to raise taxes on New York’s wealthiest as part of a campaign pledge “to shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods”.
“I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality – and ultimately what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country,” Mamdani said. “And I look forward to work with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fairer for all of them.”
Mamdani said the proposal reflected “a description of what we see right now”.
“It’s not driven by race,” he said. “It’s more of an assessment of what neighborhoods are being undertaxed versus overtaxed.
“It is not to work backwards from a racial assessment of neighborhoods or our city. Rather, it’s to ensure that we actually have an equal playing field.”
Many New Yorkers and moderate Democratic politicians have expressed concern over Mamdani’s win over former governor Andrew Cuomo in the 24 June primary for the Democratic nomination.
Among those to endorse him was progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But he has not been endorsed by many other prominent Democratic party figures, including the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, who said coolly after his win: “Obviously, there’s areas of difference in our positions, but I also think we need to have those conversations.”
Mamdani said on Sunday that he was looking forward to discussions with Hochul, saying: “Ultimately, my policies, my vision, it’s driven by an assessment of what’s actually happening.”
Asked if he thought moderate Democrats were afraid of him, Mamdani said: “I think that people are catching up to this election.
“Ultimately what we’re showing is that by putting working people first, by returning to the roots of the Democratic party, we actually have a path out of this moment where we’re facing authoritarianism in Washington DC” under the Trump administration.
In his comments on Mamdani’s having secured the Democrats’ nomination in the heavily Democratic city, Trump said: “It’s shocking.”
“I used to say we will never have a socialist in this country,” the president said, in part.
Asked about Mamdani’s proposals to oppose his administration’s immigration crackdown and to arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in New York, Trump said the mayoral candidate would “be very unsuccessful” on both counts.
“He’s a radical left lunatic,” Trump said.
Mamdani, for his part, said Democrats “need to be a party that’s not just against Donald Trump – but also for something”.
“And our campaign was for working people, bringing dignity back into those lives,” Mamdani said.