NEW YORK — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday issued a stark warning ahead of Tuesday’s New York City mayoral election, saying he would cut off most federal funding to the city if Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor. Instead, Trump broke political ranks to endorse former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing federal funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This once great city has zero chance of success, or even survival, with a Communist at the helm. I don’t want to send good money after bad.”
Mamdani, a left-wing member of the Democratic Socialists of America, secured the Democratic Party’s nomination in June after defeating Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. The 34-year-old former state assemblyman has faced growing criticism for his radical policy positions, including calls to “seize the means of production,” a statement he made during an internal party interaction that drew accusations of embracing Marxist principles.
Despite belonging to different parties, Trump said he preferred Cuomo — a Democrat with a record in government — over Mamdani or the Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder known for his vigilante patrols of New York’s transit system. “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice,” Trump wrote. “You must vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it; Mamdani is not.”
Trump’s endorsement of Cuomo could prove politically complicated. While it may attract some Republican voters, it risks alienating moderate Democrats wary of any association with the Republican president. Polls suggest a three-way split among voters, with RealClearPolitics placing Mamdani at 46.1 percent, Cuomo at 31.8 percent, and Sliwa trailing at 16.3 percent.
Mamdani, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan-born scholar Mahmood Mamdani, has built his campaign around leftist promises such as free public bus service, rent freezes, and higher taxes on the wealthy. He has also drawn controversy for supporting Khalistan separatist rallies, making anti-Israel remarks, and refusing to disavow slogans linked to global jihad.
Cuomo, who has largely avoided discussing Trump’s past compliments, responded to the endorsement by saying, “The president is right. A vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani.” Meanwhile, several leading Democrats — including former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other top lawmakers — have withheld support from Mamdani, reflecting internal divisions over his candidacy.
Mamdani’s rise, despite his lack of executive experience, has been fueled in part by discontent with both major parties and by Trump’s enduring unpopularity in his former hometown. But the president’s intervention has shifted the final stretch of the campaign into an unpredictable showdown between an independent Democrat and a self-described socialist, with the future of New York’s political direction — and possibly its federal funding — hanging in the balance. (Source: IANS)
