Zohran Mamdani wasted little time after becoming mayor-elect of New York City before addressing the man who threatened to not only defund the city — but also to arrest and deport him — if he won.
“Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up,” Mamdani, a Democrat, told the Republican president from the stage of his Brooklyn victory party.
He issued a direct challenge to the president. “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him," he said.
The proclamation was an illustration of how both men have seized on one another as politically advantageous foils as Mamdani has risen from obscure state lawmaker to national Democratic star and as Trump has cast today's Democratic Party as radical and out of touch with everyday voters.
The day after the election, Trump repeatedly referred to Mamdani as he spoke at a business conference in Miami, depicting the mayor-elect as a nightmare he vowed to fight while broadly linking other Democratic politicians to their party's new political star.
“If you want to see what congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the result of yesterday’s election in New York where their party installed a communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation," Trump said.
Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a naturalized American citizen after graduating from college, cast himself as the embodiment of the resistance against the president, who has pursued an aggressive, anti-immigrant agenda during his second term.
“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant," he said in his election night speech. “So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us."
Trump, who has spent months insulting Mamdani and warning that the city would be ruined if he won, seemed to be watching the speech.
“…AND SO IT BEGINS!" he posted on social media as Mamdani spoke.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who campaigned on a slate of far-left progressive policies and a cheery optimism that stands in stark contrast to Trump's darker and more hardline tactics, is expected to continue to face the president's persistent political bashing — along with a federal government that may try to thwart his agenda. It remains unclear however exactly how Trump plans to respond and if the courts will stop him.
New York has remained relatively unscathed by Trump's administration, as he has targeted cities including Los Angeles and Washington, dispatching the National Guard. The current mayor, Eric Adams, enjoyed an unusual alliance with the Republican president, whose administration dropped a federal corruption case against the mayor so he could better assist with the president’s immigration agenda.
But Trump for months has threatened to slash federal funding to the city and mount an outright takeover if Mamdani won — threats that became a cornerstone of Mamdani's rivals' campaigns against him.
In his first news conference as mayor-elect on Wednesday, Mamdani made it clear that the city's most powerful former resident is one of the chief challenges he'll face in his new job.
“New Yorkers are facing twin crises in this moment: an authoritarian administration and an affordability crisis,” he said. “And it will be my job to deliver on both.”
Mamdani spoke about “Trump-proofing” New York City, which he said involves “protecting those with the least from the consequences of a man with the most power in this country.”
But Mamdani said several times that he was willing to work with anyone, including Trump, if they can help New Yorkers. He said he has not heard from the White House or the president following his win.
Trump on Wednesday seemed to suggest he might be willing to work with Mamdani too.
"We want New York to be successful,” Trump said. “We’ll help him, a little bit, maybe.”
Nearly a decade ago, Trump was the bold yet untested candidate who notched a remarkable political victory of his own after building a populist coalition, harnessing social media, commanding the media spotlight and promising a wave of change.
Those same qualities that propelled the Republican into the White House in 2016 have helped Mamdani rise to become the soon-to-be mayor of Trump’s hometown and the biggest city in the nation.
Mamdani on Wednesday offered an early glimpse into the way he'll try to reflect those populist messages back against the president. He decried the high cost of groceries, something Trump raised as he campaigned for the White House last year, and said the president's decision to stop administering federal food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is "literally making it harder to afford those same groceries whose price he was decrying not that long ago.”
But rather than see Mamdani as a Democratic analogue for his own path to power, Trump has cast him as a prime foil and a reason he may seek to punish or overpower the city.
Though most presidents don't devote time to tangling with local elected officials, Trump is not most presidents, and New York City holds special significance for him.
The Queens-born former reality star made his fame in Manhattan, where he became a TV star from his gilded penthouse and later launched his improbable presidential campaign after descending his golden escalator.
Trump has kept a particular focus on the city, trying to block its congestion pricing program, cancel construction on new tunnels under the Hudson River and insisting during his comeback presidential campaign last year on holding a mega-rally at Madison Square Garden despite his unpopularity in the city.
As the city prepared to pick its next mayor, Trump got unusually involved. He attacked him on social media, falsely labeling Mamdani a communist and eventually endorsing Cuomo.
And in the fall, intermediaries for the Trump administration approached Adams to try to persuade him to abandon his reelection campaign in an attempt to block Mamdani's path to victory.
On the eve of the election, Trump said he would likely cut federal city funding if Mamdani won, writing on social media that “it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required.”
The White House and Office of Management and Budget did not respond to a message Wednesday about federal funds for the city Trump may seek to withhold.
But he had already sought to punish the city this year as part of a broader pattern of asserting power against Democratic elected officials who've criticized him, including suspending funding for some infrastructure projects during the government shutdown and trying to slash grants aimed at addressing the costs of migrants.
The threats also resonated with some voters.
Amy Snyder, an art adviser who voted for Cuomo, said she feared Mamdani “would not be able to stand up to Trump."
Ariel Kohane, a registered Republican who voted for Cuomo but has voted for Trump multiple times, said he expected the president would do everything in his power to prevent Mamdani from accomplishing his agenda — and hoped it would work.
“Trump will probably have to send in the National Guard and ICE agents, too,” Kohane said.
Wacef Chowdhury, a volunteer for the Mamdani campaign who works in finance, said he fully anticipated Trump would attempt to punish the city in retaliation for the democratic socialist’s victory.
“We know he’s going to try, but we’re ready,” Chowdhury said.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
81 Comments
Cochise
Watch this space: Mamdani will leave office unpopular and a failure, but not before enriching himself.
plasticmonkey
Say what?
stormcrow
“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Winston S. Churchill
Bob Fosse
"We want New York to be successful,” Trump said. “We’ll help him, a little bit, maybe.”
A crushing defeat seems to have cooled down his usual bs ranting. If he’d kept his mouth shut rather than claiming he’d have Mamdani arrested and deported he might have a slightly less eggy face today.
Blacklabel
The Democrat party is already eating itself alive realizing they now have to answer for every single thing this guy will say and do as their new leader.
so glad they went all in and picked him instead of being able to pretend Cuomo is a “moderate”. lol
Schumer and Jeffries are now both made impotent moving forward, it’s the Bernie and AOC show!
Yrral
Blacklabel,you have no idea,the Democrats have circuit breaker
Yrral
This election hit Israel Jews like kryptonite, American are allowed to look for their interest,over the interest of Israelis Jews
sakurasuki
Haters will always hate, however just check the result for 2025 November.
NY Major, Democrat wins2.NJ Gov, Democrat wins
3.VA Gov, Democrat wins
4.Proposition 50 California, passes that will change gerrymandering.
Next thing to watch Mid Term 2026.
Jay
Mamadi is honestly the funniest character in politics right now.
You've got a dude trying to cosplay as a Far Left Uber-"Progressive" hero AND a devout traditional Muslim at the same time. Two waddling hippos headed in opposite directions.
So of course he’s yelling "New York is ready to fight!ll" while pretending no one notices the obvious contradiction: sooner or later he’s going to have to choose between...
A) the values of his Muslim community (which, let’s be real, are the most socially conservative "Far Right" people on Earth),
and
B) catering to the blue-haired, septum-pierced, neon-eyebrow brigade who believe gender is a hobby and who dress like woodland creatures on weekends.
One side says "tradition."
The other side says "my pronouns are them/they/furry."
At some point, those worlds are going to collide... and that will be the end of Mamadi.
Bob Fosse
The GoP and maga have been doing this exact thing for years now. Is it only good when they do it?
Blacklabel
Hasn’t even been a day:
FDNY commissioner resigned.
”moderate” Jared Golden leaving Congress, (-1 for Dems)
Van Jones and Charlemange arguing over the divisiveness of Mamdani speech with profanities.
Bernie hijacked Schumer’s gloating press conference to try to take credit for the “wins” by pointing out Schumer didn’t even want Mamdani to win.
dysfunction junction!
bass4funk
Definitely, he will leave office with the first two.
Bob Fosse
Cosplaying as a far right hate filled poster or a comical Irish cad called Pat McGroin.
bass4funk
Not yet, that will be tied up in the courts as well as the candidates who will be running now in these new redistricting will each have to win individually when they run
Yes, for sure.
Bob Fosse
If you are seriously against something you should at least be able to say, write or spell what it is.
Blacklabel
no it’s actually bad and harmful when Republicans do it.
Hurts “the brand”, turns people off, and creates easy political attack points for Democrats.
so it’s super great and quite helpful when Democrats do it. and they just started in earnest yesterday!
now Mamdani has to keep all his conflicting promises and raise taxes to do it.
As the new leader of the Democrat party! Gonna be useful attack points for midterms.
nishikat
Well, taxes are going up in Japan and Trump people in Japan accept that. But at least if Mamdani was the POTUS we would have Medicare for all and airplanes actually flying. Trump people would rather have an old gassy white person (with heart disease) then a competent non white person for president.
Japan has higher taxes than the USA. Why do Magas live in Japan with that fact?
TaiwanIsNotChina
MAGAs, who have no cities, need to be educated that the president does not have any special authority over them.
bass4funk
But nothing to do with his presidency
What are you trying to say?
Aly Rustom
amazing that the 2 financial centers of the world - London and New York- both have Muslim mayors
bass4funk
Yup.
Aly Rustom
Wow! We agree.
Bob Fosse
Then what would it have to do with the Mayor of NY who has none?
That making predictions of future crime against the Mayor of NY one day into his job is a childish tantrum.
WoodyLee
Poor Trump, he just can't take the heat.
bass4funk
But it was never run by a socialist, that's the real scary part.
Not really anymore.
bass4funk
So that should apply to the POTUS as well under that statement, right?
bass4funk
Not quite, I meant it in a different way.
WoodyLee
“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant," he said in his election night speech. “So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us."
OUCHHHHHHHHHHH.
Yrral
Jews lobby were defeated by a coalition of Blacks and Hispanic and a Asian and others marginalize group
chotto_2
All Blue states should withold their liberal socialist taxes from the Federal Government, then see how the ding-a-ling States get on.
Aly Rustom
I know.
But I love that they are both lead by Muslim mayors anyway.
Aly Rustom
I love it!!
bass4funk
Good for you, thankfully it will be one term, so there is a silver lining to the Communist madness.;)
Aly Rustom
He will be elected for another.
Blacklabel
blue state, deep blue state, deep blue city.
Aly Rustom
I would say the same about Trump. Just switch Communist with Fascist.
lincolnman
Well, that's a better deflection and coping method than "Chinese-made thermostats changed votes!"...
ROFL..
bass4funk
No, he won't and the reason for that is, there is no way he can pass all of these socialist goodies without investment and without Federal aid and Trump made it clear that's not going to happen. Hochel even said, he won't be able to get through a lot of the BS things he promised.
Blacklabel
Can you identify the “MAGA” candidate in the ballot who lost yesterday?
meanwhile Schumer didn’t even endorse Mamdani (but claiming the win as his) and Hakeem says Mamdani is “not” the future of the party.
ouch!
Aly Rustom
He can and he will. All he has to do is make the Billionaires pay their fair share in taxes and that will be more than enough
Blacklabel
link to this “quote”?
Texas A&M Aggie
Mamdani, who appeared on the NYC ballot twice, received only 1,036,051 votes out of a total of 2,055,921 votes cast.
Heh, not even close to being a mandate.
plasticmonkey
Still more of a share than Trump 2024.
Aly Rustom
the movement will be dead even before he's gone.
So you admit Trump's a Fascist.
lincolnman
Sure....
"Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department official appointed by former President Donald Trump, told senior officials that China used thermostats to change ballots in the 2020 presidential election.
In a recently released email originally sent December 2020, Clark asked his superiors - including acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen and deputy Richard Donoghue - to look into "foreign election interference issues."
Clark claimed hackers had evidence that "a Dominion machine accessed the Internet through a smart thermostat with a net connection trail leading back to China."
Checkmate...
Blacklabel
to do the same disingenuous math posters here love to do:
Mamdani only got a little over 1 million votes from an 8.5 million population. So he got 12% of the vote.
yeah he said he has a “mandate” that was hilarious!
Blacklabel
88% of the people didn’t vote for him, right?
Jimizo
Khan in his third term in London.
Let’s see how Mamdani does. Certainly an incredible victory.
New York one of the great cities of the world. Hope he does well.
Aly Rustom
No by making the Billionaires in NYC pay more in taxes.
Bye Felicia
HopeSpringsEternal
Mamdani is already burning bridges by taking such an openly hostile and aggressive stance, far different than how he campaigned and thus showing his true colors, starting with his victory speech.
If NYC thinks Mayor Mamdani going to war with Trump a good idea, good luck as NY already lost huge numbers of moderate and conservative voters and businesses to places like Florida and MORE now planning to leave ASAP
Blacklabel
which was said by you to clearly not be a mandate lol
so Mamdani has a mandate and Trump despite only a 0.5% difference?
Mamdani got 12% of population vote, Trump got double that percentage.
XCAndtheband
MAGA telling on themselves here. Every attack is a confession.
HopeSpringsEternal
Mamdani has no Executive experience, so reality will hit soon and not having 'good relations' with the Federal Govt. going to make Mgmt. of NYC Reality Much Tougher
There's GOOD Reason NYC's two leading Democrats, Schummer in the Senate and Jeffries in the House of Rep. did not endorse Mamdani/see above
Amateur hour now in NYC, Democrat Party a House divided with the Far-Left Sanders/AOC Wing Rising
HopeSpringsEternal
Mamdani should try a little humility and to make good relations, as NYC is a jungle and at the rate he's burning bridges, he'll likely crash and burn very soon, as running NYC is no cake walk, 2nd hardest political job in the US
HopeSpringsEternal
With all the wealthy and their businesses fleeing NYC to low tax and low regulation Florida and elsewhere, who does Mamdani think is going to pay for his 'free' public transportation, childcare, healthcare, etc.?
Mamdani has no idea how to run Govt., and all his 'pie in the sky' communist ideals will come crashing down SOON
XCAndtheband
They never bother to actually educate themselves on anything. It’s all just fear mongering talking points from the 40’s and 50’s. That’s all they can do.
lincolnman
As is typical in MAGA-world when they get smack-downed, they start ripping into EACH OTHER...
"Republicans turned on each other on Tuesday after the party was soundly defeated in elections across the country, according to a new report.
Democrats won key seats in states ranging from Georgia to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia. The party swept the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General's offices in Virginia, and maintained the Governorship in New Jersey as well. Democrats also won their first non-federal statewide office in Georgia for the first time in more than two decades."
“Republicans can’t win without ‘big daddy’? Well, guess what? Then you’re going to lose forever because he can’t run again,” Megyn Kelly said on her popular podcast
“We got our a--es handed to us,” Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running as a Republican for Governor in Ohio, said in a video posted on X, Salon reported.
“It’s like a funeral in here,” said Rob Astorino, senior political contributor for MAGA TV network Newsmax.
Kilmeade admitted the next morning on “Outnumbered.” “It’s bad. They ran against Trump, and [they] won.”
The MAGA-misery is off the scale - and so enjoyable to watch...
Texas A&M Aggie
In a deep blue city of a deep blue state, only a tad over 2 million voters cast ballots. Meanwhile, more than 3.5 million eligible NYC residents chose to sit out this one out. Bottom line: This was not even being close to being a Blue Wave.
Yrral
Lots of other Democrats Jews do not have the liberty to oppose stance on Israel , because they are elected from a population that have no significant Jews,Fetterman and Schumer
Jimizo
I suppose universal healthcare is one of those crazy socialist ideas people like Mamdani have.
You wonder why people vehemently opposed to such ideas would move to a place with universal healthcare and take advantage of it.
Strange one.
Do they hate themselves after getting treatment?
Jimizo
Oh wait! What communist ideas are you taking about? No hints?
Uber unclear.
TokyoLiving
This hurst a lot the white privileged feelings of MAGA regime.. LOL..
TokyoLiving
Turn the volume up!!!....
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G44dW-vW4AAGXe7?format=jpg&name=medium
Jimizo
Does anyone know what his supposed communist ideas are?
Genuine question.
Bob Fosse
It was the highest mayor election voter turnout since 1969.
So actually less people decided to ‘sit this one out’ than any in the past 6 decades.
Yrral
Foreigner have no idea to pacify an American politically
GBR48
In the 1860s it was the North and West versus the South-East. It's more patchwork now.
Aly Rustom
It's interesting how people are screaming about his rent freezes being communist policies. I guess no one knows that former NYC Mayor de Blasio froze the rent 3 times in 2015, 2016, and 2020!
HopeSpringsEternal
Mamdani's widespread rent control while very popular in the short run, will be very damaging to NYC long term, as who can invest in such properties or build new ones?
Seems the biggest Mamdani beneficiaries will be the rapidly emerging financial hubs of Dallas and Miami
nishikat
Trump is doing this now with the FAA and look at all the cancelled flights. The US government will have to close some US airspace soon just because the Dems want to investigate his ties with Epstein. What does Trump have to hide? Transportation? You can't even fly in the USA now under Trump control.
plasticmonkey
I'm not claiming Mamdani has a mandate any more than Trump has a mandate. You're confusing me for another one of my "team" mates.
masterblaster
No doubt New York is in trouble. A communist mayor is going to spend his time fighting with Washington.
Hate is going to spread. The far left will be empowered and crazy policies are on the way to NY.
stick_out_nail
The joy of seeing Mamdani elected and watching it sting all the people I’m not too fond of is truly priceless. Thank you, Mamdani, for the entertainment; this joy comes in many forms.
Fountain
Welcome Mr Mayor!
XX XY Sports
Yesterday, Democrats decided to:
(a) elect a far-left foreign Islamic communist as mayor of the country's largest city, a man whose own mother said isn't really at heart an American, even though that city suffered the worst-ever radical Islamic terrorist attack;
(b) elect as Virginia's attorney general a man who openly fantasized about murdering conservatives;
(c) elect as Virginia's governor a woman who, when challenged to disavow and withdraw her endorsement of said attorney general, just stood there with an evil smirk on her face;
(c) almost elect a far-left Islamic migrant from Somalia, probably the most dysfunctional and corrupt country on earth, as mayor of a prominent Midwestern city
This is, of course, on top of the legions of "progressives" out there who openly celebrated the murder of a prominent conservative speaker, both online and at "No Kings" rallies, and are now openly mocking and demeaning his grieving widow.
Yay, democracy. You get the government you deserve.
Aly Rustom
I know!! LOVE the post election BUTT HURT comments from the right. Priceless!
Tokyo Guy
The racists, republicans (those two form a perfect Venn diagram), and other such types are absolutely livid, which means they’re scared. X/Twitter is full of men demanding to repeal the 19th amendment (because women voted massively for Mamdani (as well as other candidates yesterday: Spanberger, etc.).
New York was given a choice of a corrupt sexual predator, a has-been, and a young guy who actually offered them something pragmatic: affordability. Not really a difficult choice.
Cephus
Gosh, sometimes the 47th can be very frustrating picking up unnecessary fights doesn't help the cause. There are many proteges to do that for him. Why elevate a Mayor whether it's in New York or Idaho or any other place to the level of the presidential office? Frankly, speaking all his political advisors need to go!
XX XY Sports
"Thank you to those so often forgotten by the politics of our city, who made this movement their own. I speak of Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas. Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek nurses. Trinidadian line cooks and Ethiopian aunties. Yes, aunties." ( - Zohran Mamdani, in his victory speech yesterday)
There's one group who Mamdani glaringly, but predictably, ignores here.
Americans.
Cephus
"This is, of course, on top of the legions of "progressives" out there who openly celebrated the murder of a prominent conservative speaker, both online and at "No Kings" rallies, and are now openly mocking and demeaning his grieving widow.
Yay, democracy. You get the government you deserve."
I hear you, but the Republicans also need much reflection. We can do far much better if we deal with various problems in a humanly way possible. We can't just throw the Hispanic community under the bus, the people who helped us close the finish line in 2024 elections.
XX XY Sports
How are we throwing Hispanics under the bus? By enforcing immigration laws?
Trump said, BEFORE the election, that he would strictly enforce those laws, as he's doing now.
And the Hispanic community then went on to help him close the finish line.
So, it seems to me that a significant portion of the Hispanic community agreed with him on that.
So why should Trump stop doing something that those Hispanics seemingly agree with? They knew his stance on the issue, and voted for him anyway.
And by the way, Trump's immigration policy IS the most "humanly way," in the long run.
That's because illegal immigration is the source and spark for so many vicious and violent crimes against the migrants themselves -- human trafficking, sexual slavery, child abuse and pedophilia, and horribly exploitive work conditions for severely low pay and no social benefits.
Trump and ICE are pursuing the truly humane policy. And it seems to me that abandoning that policy -- not maintaining it -- is what would really "throw Hispanics under the bus."