Trump gives scathing response to Mamdani's new NYC ban of horse-drawn carriages

Donald Trump isn't happy about Zohran Mamdani's decision to axe horse-drawn carriages from Central Park.

Earlier this month, Mamdani announced that horse-drawn carriages in New York City's famous park are being banned after several decades.

The decision follows the death of an 18-year-old Indian tourist in June. The teen, who went on to be named as Romanch Mahajan, was thrown from the carriage and died shortly after.

Mahajan was the first recorded death of a carriage passenger, but there have been dozens of horse deaths over the years. There's said to have been at least 40 equine deaths between 1982 and 2026.

With this in mind, animal welfare activists and other critics have long decried the carriage industry, arguing horses should not be hauling tourists around busy streets and Central Park while having to navigate bustling traffic.

Horse-drawn carriages are being phased out of New York City (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

But Trump is disappointed that the decades-old tradition, thought to have started in 1858, is coming to an end.

He wrote on Truth Social on October 22: "So sad to see the beloved Central Park Horse-drawn Carriage Industry ending after over a Century, based largely on one tragic accident.

"When there is a car accident in the area, of which there are many, they don’t stop cars from entering the Park. So why would they stop the Carriages? It was a Great Tradition. Another piece of History that’s gone. It will be missed!"

Trump's remarks come after New York City’s council passed Romanch’s Law, named after the teen who died, yesterday. The city council’s committee on health voted six-three in favor of the ban.

Under the new law, carriage operations will cease completely in June 2028, The Guardian reports.

Over the last few weeks Mahajan’s family has appeared at City Hall, in person and through video-conference calls from India, begging the city to finally end the rides.

"We are shattered, our whole family shattered. The pain does not go away,” his father, Deepak Mahajan, told city council members via a video-call during a hearing for the bill last summer, saying his son leapt from the carriage to try to help his mother, who was flung from her seat, after the horse bolted.

"Every morning we wake up and think of nothing but the loss of our son," he added.

Council speaker Julie Menin has called his death 'preventable'. She said in a statement: "The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable.

"Horse-drawn carriages have long been part of New York City’s history, but in an increasingly busy Central Park, this tradition has become a growing public safety liability."