US President Donald Trump today claimed that America “lost a little bit of its sovereignty” following Democrat socialist Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory in the New York City mayoral race.
Speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami, Trump called Mamdani a “communist” and warned that under his leadership, New York could resemble “communist Cuba” or “socialist Venezuela,” prompting residents to flee to Florida.
“On November 5, 2024, the American people claimed our government. We restored our sovereignty. We lost a little bit of sovereignty last night in New York, but we’ll take care of it,” Trump said.
He asserted that Mamdani’s agenda reflects a broader Democratic strategy and criticized Congress for pushing the country toward extreme leftist policies. Trump also took aim at former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, calling him “probably the worst mayor in history,” and described Mamdani’s victory speech as “very angry” and “off to a bad start.”
In a separate interview with Fox News, Trump said he hopes Mamdani succeeds but must be “respectful of Washington” to govern effectively. “I think it’s a very dangerous statement for him to make. He has to be a little bit respectful of Washington, because if he’s not, he doesn’t have a chance of succeeding,” Trump said. He added that Mamdani “should reach out to us” as part of establishing cooperation.
Mamdani, 34, became the first Muslim mayor of New York City and its youngest leader in over a century, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa with just over 50 pc of the vote.
In his victory speech, Mamdani emphasized leadership by immigrants and vowed to tackle corruption, hold exploitative landlords accountable, and dismantle structures that allowed billionaires, including Trump, to evade taxes. Trump had previously threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City under Mamdani’s leadership. In October, the White House froze billions of dollars earmarked for city transportation projects, reflecting ongoing tensions over the new mayor’s socialist-leaning policies.
