Trump threatens to cut funds to New York if Democrat Zohran Mamdani wins mayoral race
'He is going to have problems with Washington like no mayor in the history of our once great city,' says US president, a native New Yorker
Zohran Mamdani, Democratic nominee for New York City Mayor at a press briefing joined 1199SEIU the union representing more than 450,000 health care workers and denounced the Trump administration’s cuts to critical health care funding that threaten New Yorkers’ access to affordable care outside of St. Barnabas Hospital in Bronx, New York, United States on September 24, 2025.
ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to cut off federal support from New York City if frontrunner Zohran Mamdani wins the 2025 mayoral race.
“He is going to have problems with Washington like no mayor in the history of our once great city,” Trump, a native New Yorker, wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. Trump also inaccurately called Mamdani, a professed democratic socialist, a “self-proclaimed communist.”
Trump said Mamdani will rely on federal resources to fulfill “fake communist promises” and warned: “He will not be getting any of it.”
Trump is known for being quicker to send federal aid to Republican-led areas than Democratic-led ones -- for instance, aid in the wake of disasters.
He also claimed Mamdani's possible mayoralty would prove to be "one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party."
Trump seeks to 'clear the lane for Andrew Cuomo': Mamdani
Mamdani, speaking Sunday to progressive outlet Democracy Now, accused Trump of interfering in the race to install a more compliant mayor. He argued that Trump supports other candidates because they would prioritize the president’s interests over those of the city's residents.
“The reason that Donald Trump is seeking to clear the lane for Andrew Cuomo is because he knows that Andrew Cuomo will clear the lane for Donald Trump’s agenda,” said Mamdani, referring to a former Democratic New York governor who resigned in 2021 under sexual harassment allegations, but is now running for mayor as an independent.
Mamdani argued that his campaign is different from rivals who rely on Trump’s backing or wealthy donors: “Too often politicians, whether it is Andrew Cuomo or Eric Adams, only speak about themselves. It is time to actually think about New Yorkers.”
Eric Adams, the current Trump-friendly mayor, officially abandoned his reelection bid on Sunday.
The New York City mayoral election is set for Nov. 4.
Mamdani is currently leading the polls with a double-digit lead over Cuomo, his nearest rival. Adams recently faced calls from the Trump administration to drop out of the race to boost Cuomo’s chances against Mamdani.
