WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump warned Monday that he would severely restrict federal funding to New York City if Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, whom he labeled a “Communist,” wins the upcoming mayoral election.

"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, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has zero chance of success, or even survival! It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Mamdani, a New York State Assemblyman representing the 36th District of Queens, has been a vocal advocate for housing reform, expanded public transit and social welfare programs. He has identified as a democratic socialist but rejects the “Communist” label frequently used by conservative critics.

Trump's remarks came as New York City’s mayoral race is entering its final stretch, with early voting concluded and more than five million registered voters preparing to head to the polls on Tuesday to elect the city’s next mayor in a three-way race between Mamdani, former New York governor and now independent contender Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

In his statement, Trump appeared to endorse Cuomo, warning his supporters that a vote for Sliwa would only help Mamdani.

"We must also remember this — A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani. Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!" he wrote.

In a separate post, Trump issued a final-hour appeal to voters in the states of Virginia and New Jersey, urging them to support Republican candidates in Tuesday’s statewide elections and warning that Democrats would cause "substantially higher energy prices."

"Virginia and New Jersey, remember this: A vote for a Republican means substantially lower energy prices, a vote for a Democrat, especially these two losers who are running, means a doubling, tripling, and even quadrupling of your energy costs," he said.

He also claimed that New York Governor Kathy Hochul "is killing" the entire region with energy prices.

"New York City is getting killed by her ridiculous congestion pricing, where people have to pay a fortune to come into Manhattan - So they just don’t come! The place is a ghost town," he said.

Trump said he will ask Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to look at terminating the New York City congestion fee.