President Donald Trump is threatening to pull federal funding from New York City after Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani for mayor — a move that immediately drew fire from Trump, who’s branding Mamdani as a “communist.”
In a post on Truth Social Monday morning, Trump blasted Hochul’s decision to back the Queens Democrat, calling it a “shocking development” and “a very bad one for New York City.”
“Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has Endorsed the ‘Liddle’ Communist, Zohran Mamdani, running for Mayor of New York,” Trump wrote. “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! President DJT.”
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and outspoken progressive, has championed policies like expanding rent control, Medicare for All, and major transit reform — positions that have energized the city’s left but drawn sharp criticism from conservatives. Trump, for his part, is seizing on Mamdani’s platform to cast him as a symbol of far-left politics taking hold in major U.S. cities.
His threat to cut federal funding — vague but politically loaded — adds fuel to the long-simmering tension between his administration and Democratic-led urban centers. Federal dollars are critical to New York City’s operations, from housing and transportation to emergency services. While it’s unclear whether he has the authority to withhold those funds, Trump is using Mamdani’s candidacy to push a broader narrative about what he calls the “radical left takeover” of American cities — and he’s warning there could be consequences.
Neither Hochul nor Mamdani have responded to Trump’s remarks. But given the high-profile nature of the attack — and the federal funding implications — it’s unlikely the silence will last.
