Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Election, New York, Politics, Zohran Mamdani
Joe Yates
Topics: Donald Trump, Election, New York, Politics, Zohran Mamdani
President Donald Trump has threatened to restrict federal funding to New York City if the mayoral election results go a certain way.
As crazy as it sounds, the President of the United States has informed voters in the Big Apple of his plans to withhold funding to their local government if one NYC mayoral candidate takes charge.
After the city's current mayor, Democrat Eric Adams, dropped out of the race for re-election on Sunday (September 30), it has left a three-horse race - with 'socialist' Zohran Mamdani leading the pack as they enter the final hurdle.
The 33-year-old Democrat is a clear favorite in the dash to the finish, but with New Yorkers taking to the polls on November 4, former Democratic Party member and ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo - who is running as an independent - and Republican Curtis Sliwa will hope time is on their side to top the polls.
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If Mamdani breaks into government, he plans to implement a free bus service throughout the city, provide universal childcare for children aged six weeks to five years, and carry out rent freezes to prevent landlords from hiking up bills.
He has also promised stricter accountability for negligent landlords, as well as tripling the production of rent-stabilized, union-built housing.
However, his manifesto has been criticized as unrealistic by The New York Times, while Cuomo claimed he is untested and too radical to control a budget of $115 billion, and more than 300,000 municipal workers.
And President Trump has even threatened to deport him while calling him a 'communist', telling press: "A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally. We’re going to look at everything... we’ll have to arrest him."
Now, with just five weeks to go until election day, Trump has threatened to withhold funding from New York City if Mamdani triumphs.
"Self proclaimed New York City Communist, Zohran Mamdani, who is running for Mayor, will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party," he wrote on Truth Social.
"He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?
"This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that’s guaranteed! President DJT."
People have been left gobsmacked by his remarks, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Taking to Twitter, the veteran wrote: "Trump wants to withhold money from New York City if Zohran Mamdani wins. Really? Because nothing says ‘law and order’ like the President extorting his own city if they don’t vote how he wants."
If Mamdani does reign supreme when votes go to the polls, he will become the first-ever muslim mayor of New York City.