In brief
President Donald Trump indicated that he might not provide federal funding to New York City should Zohran Mamdani, who is leading in the polls, win the mayoral election. Trump commented on how it would be challenging to allocate resources to a city with a 'Communist' leader, criticizing potential mismanagement and past Democratic policies. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and democratic socialist, aims to reshape New York governance and has pejoratively characterized former Governor Andrew Cuomo as a supporter of Trump's agenda.
US President Donald Trump has said he would be reluctant to send federal funding to his hometown of New York if left-wing front-runner Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor of America's biggest city this week. It's gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a Communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there, Trump said in a television interview. The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to cut federal grants and funding for projects primarily located in Democratic-run areas.Opinion polls indicate Mamdani is ahead of his main rival, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, on the eve of Tuesday's vote.Trump did not elaborate on his remark about funding should Mamdani win. New York City received $7.4bn in federal funding this fiscal year. In a wide-ranging interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump said that a Mayor Mamdani would make left-wing former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio look great. Mamdani won the Democratic primary, while Cuomo came second. The 34-year-old state assemblyman aims to lead the city towards policies that prioritize the dignity of all residents, differentiating himself from Trump and criticizing Cuomo as merely a reflection of Trump's ideology.
