President Donald Trump, his right-wing legions, and even some so-called “leaders” of the Democratic Party are continuing their attacks on Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, accusing him of being a “communist” as they ignore popular support for positions he has taken.
The latest salvos fired by Trump followed the endorsement Sunday of Mamdani by New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul. The president called the endorsement “very bad” for New York City.
True to his form in making illegal threats against any leader who opposes his policies, he warned on his Truth Social platform Monday morning that he may withhold federal funds from New York in order to punish Hochul for her endorsement and New Yorkers should they vote for him.
“Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has endorsed the ‘Liddle’ Communist,’ Zohran Mamdani, running for Mayor of New York, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “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!”
Trump was continuing a line of attack he’s been pursuing for weeks. Immediately after Mamdani’s primary victory, Trump branded him a “100% Communist Lunatic,” and during an appearance on Fox News last Friday, he called Mamdani “my little Communist mayor.”
Hochul, who is running for a second term as New York’s governor, finally endorsed Mamdani, a Queens state assemblyman, on Sunday after months of pressure from progressive Democrats—and after Trump became publicly involved in the mayoral race.
A likely factor in her endorsement is the latest poll showing Mamdani beating Andrew Cuomo, his nearest opponent, by almost a 2-to-1 margin. Mamdani is polling 46% to Cuomo’s 24%. Current Mayor Eric Adams and right-wing Republican Curtis Sliwa are way behind in the single-digit range.
Trump has tried, unsuccessfully so far, to get them to drop out of the race to improve Cuomo’s chances against Mamdani. He even offered Adams the position of ambassador to Saudi Arabia in order to get him to quit.
Cuomo has tried all kinds of tricks to improve his standing. He has tried walking all over Manhattan to imitate Mamdani’s energetic style of street campaigning. He went to a mosque to divert attention from his support for genocide in Gaza. He has said the city can’t afford Mamdani’s popular proposals, including rent freezes, free buses, and a pilot program of city-run grocery stores.
And on Sunday, he joined Trump’s anti-communist tirades by claiming “the majority of New Yorkers don’t support socialism.” Mamdani is an avowed democratic socialist. Regardless of labels, however, Mamdani’s platform is favored by New Yorkers, who propelled him to victory in the primaries.
In her endorsement of Mamdani in a New York Times op-ed, Hochul said she supports his affordability platform even though she does not agree with all of his positions. Some of his proposals will require support from the government in Albany, which, of course, Hochul heads.
There are other major Democratic leaders who have yet to come out to back Mamdani. Those include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York State, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, whose district is in Brooklyn.
Also withholding endorsement is New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker, who said he should not endorse in a New York City race. That did not stop him from backing the Republican Michael Bloomberg when he ran for mayor. The Hochul endorsement is expected to put pressure on all of them, however, to finally endorse. Much of the Democratic base, if online activist discussions are any guide, is disgusted with party leaders who don’t show spine in the fight against Trump and Trumpism.
As for the president, he seems to be gearing up for using a likely Mamdani win as an excuse to take action against the people of New York should they dare to oppose him at the polls. “I’m not looking at the polls too carefully, but it would look like he’s going to win,” Trump said on Fox and Friends. “And that’s a rebellion.”
Trump considers himself the master of how to put down democracy, the exercise of which he calls “rebellion.”
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, the views reflected here are those of the author.
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