President Donald Trump, it appears, is at a loss to do anything about the rise of Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist state lawmaker who won the Democratic primary for New York mayor and is heavily favored in the November general election.
Trump has occasionally trashed Mamdani, who represents Queens, the same borough where the president grew up, but it hasn’t done anything to slow his rise. But on Monday morning, Trump took another tack: He appeared to threaten New York’s federal funding, should Mamdani win.
As part of a multi-post Truth Social rant, the president commented on New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, announcing her endorsement of Mamdani.
“This is a rather shocking development, and a very bad one for New York City. How can such a thing happen? Washington will be watching this situation very closely. No reason to be sending good money after bad!,” Trump wrote.
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It’s unprecendented, of course, for a president to threaten federal money for a city, based on who they elected as mayor.
Trump, last week, had declared that it looked like Mamdani would win the race. The young candidate is going up against incumbent Eric Adams, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, among others. Adams had been expected to drop out earlier this month, amid talk that the Trump Administration had offered him an ambassadorship, but Adams called a press conference and forcefully denied he was exiting the race.
Trump threatens to withhold federal funding from NY if NYC elects Mamdani. An impeachable offense for any other president in any other era. In this one it’s just another Monday. pic.twitter.com/WbdbENi3Pk
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 15, 2025
Hochul, despite ideological disagreements with Mamdani, decided to back him.
“But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family. I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support,” the governor said, per the New York Post.
Trump’s other morning Truth Social posts included a complaint about the NFL’s current kickoff rules, an announcement that the SEC will no longer require companies to announce quarterly earnings, and a hint that a deal had been reached with China on the sale of TikTok.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
