Zoran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, has not yet taken office. But he’s already set his sights on making New York City “proof of Trump.”
Zoran Mamdani mentions Trump in speech after winning mayoral election
After winning the New York mayoral race, Zoran Mamdani had only four words for President Donald Trump.
NEW YORK – New York City’s next mayor, Zoran Mamdani, said on November 5 that the city’s residents face a double crisis.
The 34-year-old democratic socialist said in his first press conference since winning the election the night before that it was affordable. And then there was what he called an “authoritarian regime” under President Donald Trump.
“My job is to achieve both,” Mamdani said. “My job is to stand up for the city.”
With a local election looming, Trump, a Queens native, has threatened to punish New York City with measures such as cutting the city’s budget if voters elect Mamdani, a Queens native, to the state House of Representatives. President Trump recently said it would be difficult to donate “a lot of money” to New York if Mamdani becomes mayor, adding that Mamdani would waste money on left-wing politics.
Mamdani vowed to fight back in court when he took office in January.
Here, we outline what President Trump can do for America’s largest city, and what President Mamdani can do for New York, which, as his campaign platform states, is “unaffected by Trump.”
deploy the National Guard
In contrast to other large cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, New York has not been affected by the Trump administration’s National Guard deployment. President Trump could try to send troops to the streets.
Gov. Cathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat who has deployed National Guard troops to subway stations to reduce traffic crime, is reportedly preparing to block President Trump’s deployment of troops into the city.
Lame-duck Mayor Eric Adams forged a bond with Trump to help him crack down on immigration after the Justice Department dropped federal corruption charges against Adams.
Mamdani, by contrast, is in talks to form a coalition with state officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump’s nemesis, to sue the federal government if troops are sent in. He cited the success of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom in the lawsuit that blocked President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to California.
large scale immigration attack
Other Democratic cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston, saw sweeping raids by immigrants on streets, construction sites, and businesses.
New York state has been touting immigration crackdowns since Trump returned to office, but no crackdown on the same scale has taken place. Recently, there was a chaotic immigration raid by federal agents on street vendors who allegedly sold counterfeit goods in Lower Manhattan.
Federal agents are targeting people attending immigration court and Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins at federal buildings in Manhattan. The federal government’s actions have also led to violence against migrants, with one woman thrown to the ground by an officer.
Mamdani said he would hold federal agents handling Trump’s immigration detention to the same legal standards as other agents, and suggested that ICE agents could be arrested on charges of assaulting New Yorkers.
“If you violate the law, you must be held accountable,” he said. “And sadly, there is a growing sense throughout this country that certain people, whether they are the president or their agents, are allowed to violate that law.”
Mr. Mamdani has vowed to make New York the nation’s strongest sanctuary city, which broadly means limiting local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Mamdani also called for an investment of $165 million to fund legal defense services for immigrants. He said his administration would examine all city systems to protect sensitive data of undocumented immigrants and others.
Behind the scenes, state officials and business leaders are trying to block the raid, according to reports. In October, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie successfully persuaded the Trump administration not to implement a crackdown in the California city.
cut federal funding to New York City;
At the beginning of President Trump’s second term, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency canceled $80 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding. Adams City Hall sued the administration for funding.
Months later, the federal Department of Transportation announced it was cutting funding for the nation’s largest infrastructure project, strengthening the nation’s busiest rail corridor beneath the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan and the Second Avenue subway, also in Manhattan. Federal officials, who set aside about $18 billion, cited New York City’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, an equity initiative aimed at expanding the participation of racial minorities in federal aid contracts.
President Trump has threatened to further cut federal funding to the city if Mamdani is elected. In a Nov. 3 post on Truth Social, President Trump said, “It is highly unlikely that we will contribute any federal funds to a loving first home, except for the bare minimum.”
Like other Democratic cities and states facing cuts to federal benefits, Mamdani said the city may file a legal challenge to the cuts to recoup lost funds. Some cities and states have had some success, including Fresno, California, and North Carolina.
arrest american mayor
Even before Mamdani won the mayoral race, President Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani and revoke his citizenship if he did not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Born in Uganda, Mamdani immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in Morningside Heights, Manhattan. He was naturalized in 2018.
Some right-wing members of President Trump’s party are calling for a review of Mamdani’s citizenship process in order to denaturalize him and deport him. President Trump has previously threatened to arrest Democratic elected officials.
Mamdani spoke directly with President Trump after winning the Nov. 4 election.
“New York is a city of immigrants, built by immigrants, driven by immigrants, and tonight we will continue to be a city led by immigrants,” he said. “So, President Trump, listen to me. To get to any of us, you have to go through all of us.”
Mamdani’s party probably caused the loudest roar of the entire night.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
