by Melissa O’Rourke
President Donald Trump blasted Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday morning for her endorsement of avowed socialist Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor.
The most recent polling shows Mamdani is leading by a wide margin against disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Hochul finally threw her support behind Mamdani, a current New York State assemblyman and former rapper, on Sunday evening after months of hesitation.
“Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has Endorsed the ‘Liddle’ Communist,’ Zohran Mamdani, running for Mayor of New York. This is a rather shocking development, and a very bad one for New York City. How can such a thing happen?” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Washington will be watching this situation very closely.”
The president added that there is “no reason to be sending good money after bad,” seemingly threatening to withhold federal funds from New York.
The White House did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Hochul announced her support of Mamdani in an op-ed at the New York Times.
“In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements. 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,” Hochul wrote. “And in light of the abhorrent and destructive policies coming out of Washington every day, I needed to know the next mayor will not be someone who would surrender one inch to President Trump.”
While noting they were not aligned on “every issue,” Hochul said she is “confident that he has the courage, urgency and optimism New York City needs.”
If elected in November, Mamdani has pledged to raise the minimum wage to $30, create new taxpayer-funded programs — including government-run grocery stores — and increase taxes on what he describes as “richer and whiter” neighborhoods. Mamdani previously called to defund the New York City Police Department, describing the department as “racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety,” though he has since walked back those comments.
Meanwhile, other prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have yet to endorse Mamdani.
According to ABC 6, Jeffries said that he spoke to Mamdani and “congratulated him” after winning the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor. Jeffries said his campaign “was relentlessly focused on the high cost of living in New York City and the economy.”
“He outworked, he out-communicated, and he out-organized the opposition, and that’s clearly why he was successful,” he added, according to the outlet.
After Mamdani won the primary, Schumer said that he has worked with Mamdani to “provide debt relief for thousands of beleaguered taxi drivers & fought to stop a fracked gas plant in Astoria.”
“He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity,” Schumer explained.
Last week, Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) criticized New York Democrats for not endorsing Mamdani. In response, a spokesperson for Jeffries told The New York Times that he” will have more to say about the general election well in advance of Nov. 4. ”
“Meanwhile, confused New Yorkers are asking themselves the question: Chris Van Who?” the spokesperson added.
Some elected Democrats have openly criticized him over his far-left policies, including Democratic New York Rep. Laura Gillen, who said his campaign “has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes.”
Of likely New York City voters, 46% said they would support Mamdani, 24% would back Cuomo, 15% would support Sliwa and just 9% would vote for Adams, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Tuesday.
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Melissa O’Rourke is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “Zohran Kwame Mamdani” by Zohran Kwame Mamdani.
