‘Communist lunatic': Donald Trump slams Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral primary win

News.com.au

6 hours ago

Donald Trump has unleashed on Zohran Mamdani in the wake of his victory in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary race, blasting the '100% Communist Lunatic's' politics and looks.
Mr Mamdani, a self-declared socialist, pulled off a stunning political upset – pummelling former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a contest seen as a fight for the future of the Democratic Party.
The Ugandan-born state assemblyman was behind Mr Cuomo in the polls until near the end, surging on a message of lower rents, universal childcare and free bus services. If elected in November, the 33-year-old would become the first Muslim mayor in New York City's history.
According to city officials, Mr Mamdani had taken 43 per cent of the vote with 95 per cent of ballots counted. Mr Cuomo, who was at around 36 per cent, confirmed to supporters he had called his rival and conceded — and appeared to have no chance to catch his rival.
Mr Mamdani's triumph was widely celebrated by Democrats and New Yorkers – but not by the US President, who weighed in on the political upset in his former hometown in a series of furious Truth Social posts.
'It's finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line,' Mr Trump wrote.
'Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor. We've had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous.
'He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he's not very smart, he's got AOC+3, Dummies ALL backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin' Chuck Schumer, is groveling (sic) over him. Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country!'
Mr Schumer, who is US Senate minority leader, is Jewish and not of Palestinian heritage. Mr Trump's 'AOC+3' is in reference to the so-called progressive squad in Congress that includes New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In a follow-up post, Mr Trump declared Ms Ocasio-Cortez an 'Low IQ Candidate'.
'Added together with our future Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, and our Country is really SCREWED!,' he declared.
Prominent conservative activists, meanwhile, targeted Mr Mamdani's Muslim faith, tying him to 9/11 in a barrage of vile xenophobic attacks.
MAGA-aligned social media personality Laura Loomer claimed that 'New York City will be destroyed' and that the city 'is about to see 9/11 2.0'.
'If the Muslim Brotherhood would have been designated as a terrorist org, @ZohranKMamdani could have been prevented from running for office,' Loomer wrote.
'Get ready for Muslims to start committing jihad all over New York.'
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk also invoked the September 11 Al-Qaeda attacks.
'24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11,' he wrote.
'Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City.'
While Donald Trump Jr declared that 'New York City has fallen'.
In the closing days of the race, Mr Mamdani remarked on the countless attacks he'd faced because of his religion.
'I get messages that say, 'The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim',' he said at a press conference. 'I get threats on my life, on the people that I love. And I try not to talk about it.'
In his victory speech on Wednesday, Mr Mamdani said: 'Tonight we made history', adding that New Yorkers 'have stood up for a city they can afford'.
That Mr Mamdani, the son of Indian immigrants, has also spoken out for Palestinians and accused Israel of 'genocide' in its ongoing assault on Gaza makes him a prime target for the President and the Republican faithful.
His success has been seen as a rebuke to Democratic centrists who backed the powerful Mr Cuomo, as the party flails nationally in search of a way to counter the President's hard-right movement. Democrats have struggled to make their case as a credible alternative to Republicans since Kamala Harris's 2024 defeat to Mr Trump — seen in part as repudiation of identity politics and so-called 'woke' ideology.
'It's a political earthquake,' director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion, Lee Miringoff, told The New York Post.
'An unknown defeating Andrew Cuomo is a changing of the guard. More Democratic voters are younger, and their views have to be taken into account.'
Democratic consultant Trip Yang described it to The New York Times as 'the biggest upset in modern New York City history'.
'The race shows Democratic voters are growing tired of the same old faces and they're willing to bet on newcomers,' said political strategist Andrew Koneschusky, a top former Democratic Senate aide.
'Looking ahead, we may see more competitive Democratic primaries and more upsets like this. That's bad news for establishment Democrats, but can be good for the party overall.'