Mamdani Hits Back at Trump Threat in Defiant CNN Hit: ‘We Will Fight!’
Queens Assemblyman and New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) hit back at President Donald Trump’s recent threat in a defiant CNN interview, promising “We will fight” against the president’s attempt at exerting leverage.
Mamdani remains the shock frontrunner in a now-three-way race between former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) — now running as an independent — and Curtis Sliwa (R-NY) after Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY) dropped out this week.
Trump ranted Monday morning that if Mamdami wins, “He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
On Monday night’s edition of CNN’s OutFront, anchor Erin Burnett asked Mamdani about Trump’s influence on the race, and about the explicit threat:
BURNETT: Do you think that there is some sort of a deal between Trump and Adams?
MAMDANI: I can’t speak to that. All I can tell you, though, is that, you know, Donald Trump. Trump is clearing the way for Andrew Cuomo because Donald Trump knows that Andrew Cuomo will clear the way for Trump’s agenda. And New Yorkers are tired of that agenda. They want someone who’s actually beholden to the people of this city, not to the White House.
BURNETT: So, Trump’s trying to say there’s — there’s money behind this. He’s threatened you on social media, he said. And I’m going to just read it because he just posted it today. He’s going to have problems talking about you with Washington. Like no mayor in the history of our once great city. Remember, he needs the money from me as president in order to fulfill all of his fake communist promises — promises. He won’t be getting any of it. So, what’s the point of voting for him?
So, the number this year from the federal government is $7.4 billion to New York City. Are you okay if New York city loses that?
MAMDANI: No. We will fight for every single dollar that the city currently receives from the federal government. And I look for examples across this country that showcase the best way to respond to Donald Trump’s strengths is not collaboration. His threats, rather, it’s responding with strength.
And what we see in California is an attorney general of the state has estimated that for every dollar they spent on lawsuits against the federal governments threats to withhold funding, they won more than $30,000 in what would otherwise have been lost. And so, we will take that same approach.
Watch above via CNN’s OutFront.
