Trump Privately Discusses Plans In Anticipated Of Mamdani Becoming NYC Mayor
President Donald J. Trump, now in his second term, has privately acknowledged that progressive New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani may be poised to seize control of New York City’s mayor’s office — a development that could dramatically accelerate the city’s ongoing leftward lurch.
According to The Wall Street Journal, cited by The Independent, senior White House officials say the president and his advisers increasingly view the 34-year-old democratic socialist from Queens as the frontrunner, holding what they describe as a “commanding lead” over his two opponents: former Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, and longtime New York Republican figure Curtis Sliwa.
Even as major donors — including Trump’s own son Eric Trump, billionaire Bill Ackman, and grocery magnate John Catsimatidis — have urged Sliwa to withdraw and consolidate the anti-Mamdani vote behind Cuomo, the president has expressed doubt that such a move would change the trajectory.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump offered only faint praise for Cuomo, making his ideological distinction plain.
“It’s really a question of would I rather have a Democrat or a communist?” Trump said. “And I would rather have a Democrat than a communist.”
The president added that a Sliwa exit “maybe” gives Cuomo “a little bit of a chance, but not much.”
Sliwa, for his part, forcefully rejected any suggestion he bow out — and said those pushing him to quit could find themselves in legal trouble.
“I’m not budging,” Sliwa said. “Anyone who presents me with a bribe to suspend my campaign will be reported to New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg.”
A Potential Threat to New York’s Economy
Trump, a lifelong New Yorker whose business empire remains anchored in Manhattan, has acknowledged privately that Mamdani’s agenda poses a direct threat to the city’s economy — and to the job market that relies on commercial investment staying in the five boroughs.
Mamdani has openly promised significant tax hikes on high earners in order to finance housing subsidies and transit cost expansions under what his campaign calls an “affordability agenda.”
The president previously warned that if Mamdani were to win, the federal government would not bankroll New York City's decline. Last month, amid negotiations over the ongoing government shutdown, his administration canceled $18 billion in planned infrastructure funding.
An Ideological Battle Over the Future of the City
During a final televised debate Wednesday, the three candidates clashed sharply.
Mamdani accused Cuomo of clinging to power:
“a desperate man, lashing out because he knows that the one thing he’s always cared about – power – is now slipping away from him.”
Cuomo returned fire, questioning Mamdani’s record:
“Zohran is a great actor,” Cuomo said. “He missed his calling. This man never even proposed a bill on housing or education.”
Trump himself has not been silent on the matter. In July, he suggested he would intervene if Mamdani attempted to obstruct federal law enforcement:
“As President of the United States, I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!” Trump wrote on X.
He also stated he would examine Mamdani’s legal status and consider arresting him if the candidate attempted to block ICE operations.
The Bigger Picture: A Radical Shift in Urban Politics
Mamdani’s rapid ascent — from relatively unknown assemblyman to nominee poised to govern America’s largest city — has rattled not just Republicans, but moderates and business leaders across the state.
His campaign has openly embraced a citywide tax restructuring that would shift tax burdens onto wealthier and predominantly White neighborhoods.
A campaign policy document titled “Stop the Squeeze on NYC Homeowners” argues that outdated property tax assessment caps unfairly benefit Manhattan and wealthy Brownstone Brooklyn, while disproportionately harming Black, Latino, and immigrant homeowners in outer-borough neighborhoods like Brownsville and Jamaica.
The proposal has sparked alarm among homeowners, real estate developers, and local economic groups, who warn the plan risks accelerating middle-class flight at a moment when New York can least afford to lose taxpayers.