- “We want New York to succeed,” Trump says.
- Trump says: “Let’s see how Mamdani does in New York.”
- Says US is losing “sovereignty” after New Yorkers elect Mamdani.
MIAMI: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that “we want New York to succeed” and that he might offer US aid to Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist elected as New York mayor.
“We’re helping him, a little bit maybe,” Trump said in a speech in Miami the day after the election.
Speaking in Miami a day after Mamdani’s landslide victory, Trump said: “Let’s see how Mamdani does in New York.”
He further said that the United States had lost “sovereignty” after New Yorkers elected leftist Mamdani as their next mayor.
“We’ll take care of it,” Trump said without explaining what he meant as he claimed the nation’s largest city would go communist.
Trump added that the Florida city “will soon be a haven for those fleeing communism in New York.”
“The decision facing all Americans could not be clearer: We have a choice between communism and common sense,” he said, casting the choice as between an “economic nightmare” and an “economic miracle.”
The speech marked the first anniversary of Trump’s election victory over Democrat Kamala Harris.
“We saved our economy, we reclaimed our freedom, and together we saved our country on that magnificent night 365 days ago,” Trump told his audience of supporters.
Mamdani’s victory in the mayoral race came despite fierce attacks on his policies and Muslim heritage from business elites, conservative media commentators and Trump himself.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Trump how to defeat him, it’s the city that gave him birth,” Mamdani said in a victory speech late Tuesday.
Mamdani’s win, as well as other Democratic victories in the governor’s race in Virginia and New Jersey, signaled a shift in political mood as the country looks ahead to next year’s midterm elections, where control of Congress will be at stake.
In another significant victory for Democrats, voters in California approved a proposal to redraw election districts in an attempt to neutralize the humble effort ordered by Trump in other states.
Trump refused to take any blame for Tuesday’s results.
In a post on his Truth Social network, he cited anonymous “pollsters” suggesting that the Republican defeats were due to the government shutdown and the fact that his own name was not on the ballots.
The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist made history by becoming the first Muslim mayor of America’s largest city, defeating Democratic former governor Andrew Cuomo.
Earlier, Trump acknowledged that Democrats’ sweeping electoral gains signaled growing trouble for Republicans, calling the results “not good” and linking the setbacks to the record-long federal government shutdown now in its sixth week.
Addressing GOP senators at a White House breakfast, Trump reflected on the outcome, saying it had not been a positive night for anyone.
The US president said: “We had an interesting evening and we learned a lot and we will talk about that.”
He attributed the Republican setbacks in part to the prolonged government shutdown, citing pollsters who found it “a big factor, negative for Republicans.” Trump added that some analysts considered his absence from the vote the biggest factor.
Trump accused Democrats of being prepared to destroy the country as the government shutdown became the longest in history on Wednesday, eclipsing the 35-day record set during the Republican leader’s first term.
Mamdani to Trump: ‘Turn up the volume’
Mamdani wasted no time calling out President Trump, formally kicking off the fight that is likely to define the relationship between the 34-year-old mayor and the president whose celebrity is tied to the city.
“Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn up the volume!” Mamdani, a Democrat, said during a Tuesday night speech to a raucous crowd of supporters shortly after being declared the victor.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it’s the city that gave him birth,” Mamdani told supporters. “And if there’s any way to intimidate a despot, it’s by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. That’s not just how we stop Trump, it’s how we stop the next one.”
