New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani is hitting back after President Donald Trump publicly threatened to have him arrested. During a stop in Florida on Tuesday, July 1, Trump said he would jail Mamdani if the assemblyman follows through on his vow to block ICE agents from detaining undocumented migrants in New York City.
“Well, then we’ll have to arrest him,” Trump said. “Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over them very carefully on behalf of the nation.”
The comment came days after Mamdani’s primary win. Trump had already taken to Truth Social to attack him, writing, “The Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor.”
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Mamdani is a New York State assemblyman, representing parts of Queens. He identifies as a democratic socialist and receives support from progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He was born in Uganda, immigrated to the U.S. at age 7 and became a naturalized citizen in 2018.
Mamdani responds: ‘They will come for you’
In a sharply worded statement Tuesday night, Mamdani accused the president of threatening to strip him of his citizenship and deport him.
“The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported,” Mamdani wrote. “Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to ICE terrorize our city.
“His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation,” he added.
Progressive platform, polarizing policies
Mamdani has supported policies such as having city-owned grocery stores and freezing rent on certain apartments, as well as free city bus services. His position on immigration and refusal to assist ICE is reminiscent of the situation in California. Intense protests in Los Angeles prompted Trump to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines, despite the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Trump backs Adams amid legal fallout
Trump, meanwhile, appears to be throwing his support behind current Mayor Eric Adams, who is now running for re-election as an independent. Adams was indicted on federal corruption charges, but the Justice Department dropped those charges after Trump took office in January, prompting multiple DOJ resignations in protest.
Adams skipped the Democratic primary and is now Mamdani’s expected opponent in the November election. Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, is running as the Republican nominee.
If elected, Mamdani would become New York City’s first Muslim mayor. New York Governor Kathy Hochul defended him on social media, writing on X, “I don’t care if you’re the President of the United States, if you threaten to unlawfully go after one of our neighbors, you’re picking a fight with 20 million New Yorkers — starting with me.”
