The incoming mayor of New York won’t mince words with President Trump, but said the “door is open” to dialogue.
US President Donald Trump has signaled he is ready to support incoming New York City mayor Zoran Mamdani, but warned the pioneering democratic socialist must be “respectful” to Washington if he is to succeed.
President Trump made the comments Wednesday as he announced his transition team following Mamdani’s historic election as the first Muslim and first South Asian mayor of America’s largest city.
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Reacting to Mamdani’s comments on the night of his victory, vowing to stand up to Trump, the US president described the mayor-elect’s comments as “dangerous statements”.
“You’ve got to have some respect for Washington, because if you don’t, you have no chance of success,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Bayer.
“And I want him to succeed. I want the city to succeed,” Trump added, quickly making clear that he wanted New York City to succeed, not Mamdani.
Earlier Wednesday, President Trump suggested his administration would “support” the new mayor, even as he branded him a “communist.”
“The communists, the Marxists, the globalists had a chance, but they brought nothing but disaster. Now let’s see how the communists do in New York. We’ll see what happens,” President Trump said in a speech at the American Business Forum in Miami, Florida.
“We’ll help him, we’ll help him. We want New York to be successful. Maybe we’ll help him a little bit.”
In the run-up to Tuesday’s New York mayoral election, President Trump denounced Mamdani as a “communist lunatic” and threatened to cut off federal funding to the city if he won.
Mamdani, whose platform includes free universal childcare, free buses and government-run grocery stores, rejects the communist label and calls himself a democratic socialist.
Mamdani will be responsible for governing the city of about 8.5 million people, but his election is widely seen as having national implications as the Democratic Party struggles to reconcile its centrist and progressive wings and effectively counter President Trump.
In his victory speech, Mamdani cited his election as a model for how to defeat Trump and directly addressed the TV-loving president to “turn up the volume.”
Mamdani, who is scheduled to take office on January 1, laid out his priorities in a speech on Wednesday, reaffirming his determination to oppose President Trump and signaling his willingness to engage with the administration.
“I’m not going to mince my words when it comes to President Trump,” the mayor-elect said.
“I will continue to give a true account of his actions and will always leave the door open for this conversation.”
