Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate and state assemblyman, laughed off an attack from President Donald Trump on Wednesday, following his preemptive primary win on Tuesday night.
Mamdani also took a swipe at Trump’s failure to deliver on his campaign promises of lowering costs for millions of Americans.
“It’s finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also complained that Mamdani had received support from New York Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“This is not the first time that President Trump is going to comment on myself,” Mamdani said when asked by ABC News about Trump’s outburst.
He added, “He ran a presidential campaign in part speaking about the necessity of making groceries cheaper and to make the cost of living more navigable for so many. He’s shown himself uninterested and unable to deliver on that.”
Mamdani also explained to ABC that he intends to continue fighting against Trump’s weaponization of the federal government to attack his political opponents and his policies that target people based on their gender identity or immigration status.
In a separate interview with MSNBC, Mamdani was asked to address the bigoted attacks that have been lobbed in his direction from Republicans and conservative pundits—including media outlets like Fox News and the New York Post, both owned by right-wing billionaire Rupert Murdoch.
For instance, Trump confidante and right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer claimed that Mamdani is “supported by terrorists” and that “NYC is about to see 9/11 2.0.”
And Fox News host Greg Gutfeld previously said that Mamdani was a “social justice suicide bomber.”
“I’ve spoken to many Muslims across this city who have shared that their fear of having to be essentially branded a terrorist just by living in public life is one that keeps them preferring life in the shadows, life outside of that specter,” Mamdani told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. “And this is not the way that we can have our city be. It’s not the way that we can have our country be.”
Mamdani’s upset of Andrew Cuomo, who had the support of establishment Democrats and some Republicans, shocked the entire country. His progressive campaign has the momentum that has made him a target for all of conservatism, from Trump on down.
But Mamdani is making it clear that he isn’t backing down from the challenge any time soon.