Featured Image Credit: CBS/60Minutes
Topics: Donald Trump, New York, Politics, Social Media, US News
Phoebe Tonks
Topics: Donald Trump, New York, Politics, Social Media, US News
When it comes to the cut-throat world of US politics, it’s no secret that political rivals will pull no punches during campaign trails.
From pithy putdowns to brutal policy dissections, there’s always been some animosity on both sides of the political divide, and in Donald Trump’s case, there's more than a little mudslinging.
Yet the latest response from the president when quizzed about potential New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was unusually personal, even for him, with some critics on social media blasting the world leader for being downright ‘delusional’ with his comments.
Here's everything you need to know about the situation...
The situation unfolded during a recent episode of 60 Minutes, when show host Norah O’Donnell asked the president about the upcoming NYC Mayoral election, which is due to take place on Tuesday (November 4).
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“Zohran Mamdani, 34 year old Democratic Socialist—,” began O’Donnell before being cut off by Trump, who in interjected: “Communist, not a socialist. He’s a communist. He’s far worse than a socialist.”
Undeterred, O’Donnell continued her question, asking: “Some people have compared him to a left-wing version of you; charismatic, breaking the old rules – what do you think about that?”
Without a moment’s hesitation Trump then retorted: “Well I think I’m a much better-looking person than him, right?”
The exchange baffled viewers at home, with many users taking to social media to brand Trump both 'narcissistic' and 'delusional'.
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“See, I know Trump is straight-up delusional. As a 78+ years old 'man' he actually thinks he looks better than Mamdani...a 35 year old man??” penned one user.
Another agreed, adding that Trump was 'self-absorbed'.
However, while many were quick to criticise the president’s comment, some users were in support of it, with one arguing that Trump wasn’t being serious, but instead making a well-timed joke.
"It is absolutely clear that he is joking and that was a very well-timed joke,” argued one user. "You can hate the person, think he is incompetent and all that, but you’ve got to admit that he is objectively extremely funny and charismatic. Unless the left get this and adapt to this, we are never winning.
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"Calling him delusional for a joke he made(whose point is clearly that Mamdani is very good looking and the joke is that he called himself a 70 year old man better than him), and getting worked up over it, for any center and right person, it only makes it look like the left is a bunch of joyless people who have 0 critical thinking skills."
Zohran Mamdani is a state assemblyman who hopes to make history in this week’s New York City mayoral election by becoming the first Muslim mayor of the iconic city.
Originally born in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani moved to the US as a child and called New York home from the age of seven.
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While in NYC, he studied at the Bronx High School of Science, before going on to achieve a bachelor's degree with a major in Africana studies at Bowdoin College, Maine, back in 2014.
Bitten by the political bug while studying, Mamdani was instrumental in setting up the college’s campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and has championed many progressive causes throughout his election campaign.
If elected, Mamdani will become New York City's first Muslim and South Asian mayor and has vowed to continue to champion the needs of all people across the city’s diverse population.
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Keen to reach out to as many sections of society as possible, his election campaign has one campaign video entirely in Urdu and mixed in Bollywood film clips. In another, he speaks Spanish – and in the week prior to the all-important vote, he also produced an advert entirely in Arabic.
A proud man of the people, Mamdani’s state assembly profile reads: "As life took its inevitable turns, with detours in film, rap, and writing - it was always organising that ensured that the events of our world would not lead him to despair, but to action."
Among his key election proposals are free city-wide bus travel for all, universal childcare from six weeks to five years old, alongside rent freezes and tighter controls to force negligent landlords to act.