After Mamdani’s win, US president softens stance on NYC funding

Just days after warning he would block federal funding if Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race, US President Donald Trump appeared to take a step back from his hardline position following Mamdani’s decisive victory.

Speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday, Trump—who had repeatedly labelled Mamdani a “communist”—suggested he was open to extending limited support to the new city administration.

“The communist, Marxist socialists and globalists had their chance, and they delivered nothing but disaster. And now let’s see how a communist does in New York,” Trump said. “We’ll help them a little bit, maybe. We want New York to be successful.”

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The softer tone marked a sharp shift from Trump’s remarks before Election Day, when he vowed to restrict funding “other than the very minimum as required” if Mamdani took office. In a Truth Social post last week, he warned that New York would face a “complete and total disaster” under Mamdani and refused to send “good money after bad.”

Even as Trump appeared to soften his stance on financial aid, he continued to criticise Mamdani’s political ideology.

“If you want to see what Congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at New York, where their party installed a communist as mayor,” he said. “I used to say we’d never have a socialist elected in this country — well, we skipped that. We went straight to a communist.”

Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, made history by becoming New York City’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in over a century. The 34-year-old from Queens defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who contested as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Born in Uganda to renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, the new mayor secured over a million votes — the highest tally for any New York mayoral candidate in three decades, according to The Hill. Mamdani won 50.6 per cent of the vote, while Cuomo finished with 41.7 per cent.

At his victory speech, Mamdani invoked India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, quoting from his iconic “Tryst with Destiny” address delivered on the eve of India’s independence in 1947. “I’m reminded of Jawaharlal Nehru’s words: ‘A moment comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to the new,’” Mamdani told supporters. “Tonight, New York has done just that. This new era demands clarity, courage, and vision — not excuses.”