Socialist Zohran Mamdani says he will be Trump’s ‘worst nightmare’ as NYC mayor

"My administration would be Donald Trump’s worst nightmare," Mamdani said. "You don’t need to take me at my word or take Andrew Cuomo at his. You need only look at the actions of the Trump administration since I won the Democratic primary." Mamdani won June’s Democratic primary over Andrew Cuomo and other candidates. Cuomo has since launched an independent bid for the seat.

"How else can you describe a president who has proposed denaturalizing the Democratic nominee of New York City? How else can you describe a president who has sought to entertain suggestions of deporting me, of arresting me, of taking control of the city over the will of New Yorkers? Those are the actions of a president who is afraid of the fact that I will actually deliver in a manner where he has simply betrayed."

Mamdani’s comments were criticized by the New York Post’s editorial board, who said that the real victims of a fight between Mamdani and Trump would be New Yorkers themselves.

"For starters, no mere mayor, even of America’s greatest city, has the juice to pick a fight with the federal government and hope to come out on top. In fact, it’s a joke to think a Mayor Mamdani could even step in the ring," the editorial board said, noting that the city relies heavily on federal funding, including for Medicaid, the MTA, Housing Authority, and other programs.

Mamdani has since launched a tour across the city’s five boroughs, during which he is reportedly set to take aim at the Trump administration’s "authoritarian" agenda, specifically around healthcare and immigration, per Fox News. He visited Manhattan on Monday, and will visit each of the remaining four boroughs through the rest of the week.