Trump threatens to cut New York funds if Zohran Mamdani doesn't 'do the right thing'

Australia Broadcast Center

11 hours ago

US President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off federal funding to New York City if the Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wins and "doesn't behave".
Mr Trump, himself a native New Yorker, told the Fox News Channel that if Mr Mamdani wins the mayoral race, "he'd better do the right thing" or he would withhold federal funds from the city.
"He's a communist. I think it's very bad for New York," the US president said.
Mr Mamdani, who describes himself a "democratic socialist", surprised US politics when he beat former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary last week.
Asked about Mr Trump's claim that he is a communist, Mr Mamdani told NBC it was not true and accused the president of attempting to distract from the fact that "I'm fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower that he has since then betrayed."
The 33-year-old also said he was not concerned that some top Democrats have not yet endorsed his candidacy.
"I think that people are catching up to this election," he said.
"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."
Mr Mamdani would be the first South Asian and the first Muslim to lead New York city, should he win the mayoral race in November. The city has historically be a stronghold for the Democrats.
During the primary, Mr Mamdani cast himself as a 'progressive Muslim immigrant" and vowed to be "Donald Trump's worst nightmare".
His criticism of Israel's war in Gaza has set him apart from many mainstream Democrats and prompted allegations of anti-Semitism, which he has fiercely denied.
Earlier this month, during an appearance on a political podcast, Mr Mamdani declined to condemn the pro-Palestinian phrase "globalise the intifada," which some Jews view as anti-Semitic and a call to violence.
Jeffries told ABC USA that Mr Mamdani needed to "clarify his position" on the phrase to reassure American's most Jewish city.
Pressed again on Sunday, Mamdani said it was "not language that I use" but again did not condemn it.
He said he did not want to determine for others what words are permissible or impermissible, arguing that Mr Trump has done that by targeting pro-Palestinian activists for their speech.
"We have to root out that bigotry, and ultimately we do that through the actions," he said.
In his victory speech, Mr Mamdani also vowed to 'reject Trump's fascism'.
Reuters