President Donald Trump is threatening to arrest New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani if he wins and refuses to cooperate with ICE’s operations in the city.
At a press conference Tuesday in Florida, Trump responded directly to Mamdani’s pledge to “kick the fascist ICE out of New York City.”
“Well, then we’ll have to arrest him,” Trump said.
Trump then doubled down, calling Mamdani a “communist”—a label Mamdani has denied. “Look, we don’t need a communist in this country,” Trump said. “But if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.”
The president didn’t stop there. He echoed recent right-wing calls to question Mamdani’s citizenship, suggesting without evidence that Mamdani may not be in the U.S. legally.
“A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally,” Trump claimed.
In reality, Mamdani was born in Uganda in 1991, moved to New York in 1998, and became a U.S. citizen in 2018.
Trump also took the opportunity to praise Mamdani’s opponent, current Mayor Eric Adams, calling him “a very good person.” He said, “He still has a race to win… But so far, he’s winning. And he has an advantage as a Democrat in New York City.”
Trump added, “You would think that a Republican would be able to win. You have a good independent running, Mayor Adams.”
Mamdani, a progressive state assemblyman, has openly called for New York City to stop cooperating with ICE and has faced mounting attacks from conservatives as his mayoral campaign gains traction.
Watch Trump’s remarks in the video below:
