Trump 'feels threatened' by NYC mayoral campaign: Zohran Mamdani

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Monday said US President Donald Trump was 'threatened' by his campaign, after Trump warned voters that the city’s 'survival' was at stake if the Democratic nominee won Tuesday’s election.

Speaking to CNN on the eve of Election Day, Mamdani said Trump was reacting to a campaign focused on cost-of-living issues affecting working-class New Yorkers.

“You can clearly see that Donald Trump is threatened by our campaign. He’s threatened because, like his, we’ve diagnosed the crisis in working-class New Yorkers’ lives — the cost of living. But unlike him, we’re actually going to deliver on that,” he said.

Mamdani criticised Trump for spending $300 million on White House renovations, saying the same amount could fund SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits for 100,000 New Yorkers.

He argued that federal funding for New York cannot be decided by the President based on political preferences, stating, “This is money New Yorkers are owed, and this is money we’re going to fight for.”

The importance of being Zohran Mamdani

Trump, campaigning ahead of the vote, warned that New York would face a “complete and total economic and social disaster” if Mamdani won, calling him a 'communist' and stating he would limit federal assistance to the city if Mamdani became mayor. Instead, Trump endorsed former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate, saying voters “must” support him.

Mamdani responded that Trump and Cuomo shared similar financial backers and argued New Yorkers did not want 'a mimic' of Trump’s agenda at City Hall. He said his campaign aims to lower living costs, freeze rent for stabilised tenants if elected, and expand housing supply.

Mamdani, 34, born in Uganda and raised in New York, is a New York State Assembly member and self-described democratic socialist. He emerged as the Democratic nominee after defeating Cuomo in the party primary earlier this year. The Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, is also contesting.

More than 735,000 New Yorkers cast early ballots ahead of Tuesday’s vote, according to the city’s Board of Elections. Current mayor Eric Adams withdrew from the race in September.

With PTI inputs

The tripod that raises Zohran Mamdani, almost-mayor of New York City