US President Donald Trump’s threat to arrest New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, stating that he did not want a communist in the country and questioning his citizenship, drew backlash from the Democratic Socialist candidate, who framed the remarks as an authoritarian attempt to silence dissent.
The threat, issued during a visit to a Florida detention centre, was prompted by a reporter’s pointed question and was laced with unsubstantiated insinuations regarding Mamdani’s citizenship and ideological leanings.
In response, Mamdani accused the President of attempting to criminalise political opposition, stating on social media that “the President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported,” and asserted that this threat had nothing to do with legality but with his refusal to allow federal immigration enforcement to instil fear in the city.
Trump, who has repeatedly targeted progressive voices critical of his administration’s immigration policies, labelled Mamdani a “communist” and claimed, without evidence, that the candidate may be residing in the country illegally.
Mamdani, who recently stunned political observers by defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, has positioned himself as a staunch opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, vowing to prevent New York City’s resources from being co-opted for federal enforcement efforts and pledging to invest $165 million in immigration legal support.
His victory, described as a major political upset, has energised progressive voters, and his campaign—centred around rent freezes, free bus transport, expanded child care, strengthened public education, LGBTQIA+ rights, and higher corporate taxes—has drawn national and international attention.
The 33-year-old candidate, who describes himself as a progressive Muslim immigrant, has declared that Trump’s threats reflect a broader assault on democracy and represent an effort to intimidate those who refuse to retreat into silence.
Trump’s remarks also brought renewed scrutiny to current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, whom the President defended in the same breath as he threatened Mamdani. Adams, once a Democrat but now running as an independent, had previously faced a high-profile corruption indictment in 2024, which was later dismissed following intervention by the Department of Justice.
The dropping of charges, widely seen as politically motivated, was described by critics as a quid pro quo arrangement, particularly after Adams’ visible cooperation with Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
While Adams has denied any connection between Trump and the resolution of his legal troubles, the President’s public defence—coupled with his claim that the indictment had been “phoney”—has sparked renewed alarm over the politicisation of justice.
Mamdani, responding to the President’s remarks, condemned Adams’ alignment with the administration, accusing the Mayor of echoing Trump’s divisive politics at a time when vulnerable New Yorkers face growing threats to healthcare, housing, and economic security.