NEW YORK: New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani declared that history is in the making as he faces off against the country’s wealthiest man and President Donald Trump.
Addressing a campaign rally, Mamdani vowed to bring relief to the city’s working class, saying that ordinary New Yorkers currently feel unsafe in their own city.
The New York mayoral election is being held today. According to early polls, Mamdani is leading with 50 percent support. The final day of early voting saw a record turnout, with over 735,000 ballots cast, four times higher than the turnout in the 2021 mayoral race.
If successful, Zohran Mamdani will become New York’s youngest-ever, first Muslim, and first immigrant mayor.
Mamdani, 34, a self-described democratic socialist, has built strong support among younger and progressive voters but unsettled centrist Democrats and Republicans alike.
Presdient Trump Reaction
US President Donald Trump, however, endorsed ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for mayor of New York City, warning that federal funds to the city could be withheld if Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani wins Tuesday’s election.
Cuomo, a veteran Democrat now running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the party’s primary, has drawn renewed attention as the race tightens. The high-stakes election is seen as a bellwether for the Democratic Party’s direction amid growing divisions between moderates and progressives.
Trump has repeatedly labeled Mamdani a “communist” throughout the campaign.
“Whether you like Andrew Cuomo or not, you have no choice but to vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it—Mamdani is not,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump further warned that if Mamdani wins, New York City would receive only the “minimum” federal funding required by law. The federal government currently provides about $7.4 billion to the city, roughly 6.4 percent of its total budget, according to the New York State Comptroller’s office.
Throughout his second term, Trump has threatened funding cuts to states and cities over climate initiatives, transgender policies, pro-Palestinian protests, and diversity programs.
Mamdani, a Ugandan-born state assembly member, stunned observers in June by defeating Cuomo in the Democratic primary. His campaign has framed him as an anti-establishment candidate challenging political elites, including Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 following a state attorney general report accusing him of sexually harassing multiple women.
A subsequent US Justice Department probe found Cuomo had created a “sexually hostile work environment” for at least 13 female employees.
Responding to Trump’s endorsement of Cuomo, Mamdani said the move “shows exactly the kind of mayor Donald Trump wants.”
“Trump and Cuomo share the same donors, the same narrow vision, and the same sense of impunity,” Mamdani told supporters at a campaign event.
