WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday slammed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as a "total nut job."

"Frankly, I've heard he's a total nut job," Trump told reporters. "I think the people in New York are crazy because they go this route. I think they're crazy. We will have a communist in the for the first time, really a pure, true communist. He wants to operate the grocery stores. The department stores. What about the people that are there? I think it's crazy.”

Mamdani defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in last week's primary, positioning himself to become the Big Apple's first Muslim mayor.

The Democratic nominee has been a vocal supporter of Palestine and a critic of Israel. He co-founded the Bowdoin College chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, and in 2023, he joined a hunger strike outside the White House demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Mamdani told NBC News on Sunday that mayors should not "police speech" when he was asked to condemn the "Globalize the intifada" phrase.

Trump repeated his claim that Mamdani is a "communist."

"I think he's terrible. He's a communist. The last thing we need is a communist. I said there will never be socialism in the United States,” he said. “I think he's bad news and I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with him, watching him, because he has to come right to this building to get his money. Don't worry, he's not going to run away with anything.”

Speaking at a roundtable on immigration policy in the state of Florida, Trump was asked about his message to Mamdani, who recently pledged to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests, and defy Trump’s deportation plans.

"Well, then we'll have to arrest him," said Trump.

"We don't need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I'm going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation," he added.