President Trump suggested the White House could get involved if Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of New York City.
“If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same,” Trump told the New York Post during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. “But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places where we have to.”
A reporter from the Post asked how Republican voters in New York should vote in the upcoming mayoral election. Self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for the race two weeks ago, beating out former Governor Andrew Cuomo for the nomination. Other candidates running in the November general election include current Mayor Eric Adams and Cuomo, who are both running as independents, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
The president has previously voiced support for Adams.
“Cuomo does have capability,” Trump said Tuesday. “He’s running, but he got knocked out. You have Eric Adams, the current mayor, you have Cuomo, and you have Curtis Sliwa. And Curtis runs every, every four years. He seems to be a fixture on the running scale …. I’m not getting involved.”
The president called Mamdani “a disaster” and “not very capable in my opinion.” The 33-year-old campaigned on government-run grocery stores, free childcare and bus service, and “freezing the rent” amid skyrocketing living expenses in the city.
“He’s got the Democrat nomination because that shows you where the Democrats have gone,” Trump said.
The president also suggested the possibility of the White House running Washington, D.C., in his remarks. He said his administration does not want any more crime in the city.
“The crime would be down to a minimal, it’d be much less,” he said. “We’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you. We want a capital that runs flawlessly.”
He added that his administration has a good relationship with Mayor Muriel Bowser, and that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles been working closely with her.
When asked for more information by National Review, the White House said it had nothing to add to the president’s remarks.