President Donald Trump has sparked controversy by threatening to arrest Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor. The threat comes after Mamdani won a surprising victory in the Democratic primary, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo through New York City’s ranked-choice voting system.
Trump claimed Mamdani is not a U.S. citizen and called him a “communist,” even though Mamdani is a naturalized citizen who moved to the U.S. from Uganda as a child and officially became a citizen in 2018. No credible evidence supports Trump’s claims about his immigration status.
The president also warned that if Mamdani, once elected mayor, tries to block U.S. immigration agents (ICE) from detaining undocumented immigrants in the city, he will be arrested. Trump said, “If he gets in the way of ICE, then we’ll have to arrest him.” He also threatened to cut federal funding to New York City if Mamdani does not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
In response, Mamdani strongly condemned the threats, calling them political intimidation. He said Trump’s comments were meant to silence people who speak out against federal policies and support immigrant communities. Mamdani stated, “The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp, and deported—not because I broke the law, but because I oppose ICE raids in our city.”
Mamdani is the first Muslim and Democratic Socialist to win a major party’s nomination for NYC mayor. His win has made headlines and raised concerns among some Democrats who fear his political stance could be used by Republicans to target their party in upcoming elections. On the Republican side, Trump has thrown his support behind current Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent after being cleared of corruption charges.
Following Mamdani’s primary win with 56% of the vote in the third round of ranked-choice voting, he will now face Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and independent candidate Jim Walden in the November general election.
Despite Trump’s harsh words, Mamdani remains firm in his campaign message: protecting vulnerable communities, standing up against federal overreach, and ensuring New York City remains a safe place for all its residents.
