US President Donald Trump has a new political punching bag — and he’s not holding back. In a fiery barrage of social media posts and campaign appearances this week, Trump launched an extraordinary attack on Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, vowing to arrest or deport him if he wins the election in November.
“As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on Truth Social. “Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!”
The 33-year-old Mamdani, a democratic socialist, stunned the political world by defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. His rise has made him the GOP’s newest national target.
During a visit to a migrant detention centre in Florida, Trump said, “If Mamdani blocks ICE agents from making arrests in the city — well, then we’ll have to arrest him. Look, 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,” Trump added.
Trump further fanned the flames by amplifying a baseless conspiracy theory that Mamdani is in the US illegally, despite the fact that he became a naturalized citizen years ago.
“A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally. We’re going to look at everything,” Trump said.
Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents and moved to New York at age seven, would be the city’s first Muslim and Indian-American mayor if elected.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Mamdani directly addressed Trump’s attacks. “Donald Trump said that I should be arrested. He said that I should be deported. He said that I should be denaturalised,” Mamdani said. “He said those things about me because he wants to distract from what I fight for — cheaper groceries, free public transit, affordable housing — all things working-class Americans want.”
Republicans have seized on Mamdani’s victory as proof the Democratic Party has lurched too far left. His past posts calling for abolishing prisons and labelling the NYPD as “racist” have resurfaced alongside accusations of antisemitism for his pro-Palestinian views, including his refusal to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee called him “Commie Mamdani” and sent out an email blast claiming: “This radical platform is the future of the Democrat Party, and voters should be terrified.”
Some Republicans have gone further, invoking racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic rhetoric. Florida Rep. Randy Fine claimed Mamdani would teach “Sharia Law” in classrooms.
Texas Rep. Brandon Gill posted a video of Mamdani eating with his hands, saying, “Civilised people in America don’t eat like this. If you refuse to adopt Western customs, go back to the Third World.”
Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, of Tennessee, has referred to Mamdani as “little Muhammad” and late last month wrote a letter to US Attorney General Pam Bondi calling for the Justice Department to investigate whether Mamdani should be denaturalised as a citizen.
While progressive Democrats have celebrated Mamdani’s win — seeing echoes of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — moderates are sounding the alarm, fearing his rise could alienate swing voters.
But Mamdani remains defiant. “This is the same president who ran on a campaign of easing the cost of living,” he said of Trump. “But instead of delivering, he divides.”
– Ends
With inputs from Associated Press
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