Trump and Mamdani lock horns: A feud redefining American politics?
A new political rivalry has been brewing in the heart of New York, and it's as theatrical as it gets.
Freshly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist, seems to have found his perfect foil in US President Donald Trump, who has branded him "a communist" and a threat to America's "sovereignty."
The tension ignited on election night when Mamdani, basking in his victory, looked straight into the cameras and addressed Trump directly.
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"Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up," Mamdani declared to cheers from his supporters.
And Trump was indeed watching.
The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the president tuned in live.
Hours later, Trump shot back from a business conference in Miami, warning that the US had "lost sovereignty" following Mamdani's win.
"The decision facing all Americans could not be clearer: We have a choice between communism and common sense," Trump said, calling the Democrats' victory part of an "economic nightmare".
The president even warned that Miami "will soon be the refuge for those fleeing communism in New York."
Trump didn't stop there.
In an interview with Fox News, he said Mamdani "should be very nice" to him if he wants federal support.
"I thought it was a very angry speech, certainly angry towards me. And I think he should be very nice to me. You know, I am the one that sort of has to approve a lot of things coming to him. So he's off to a bad start," Trump told Fox News, calling Mamdani's speech "very dangerous."
Mamdani, however, appears undeterred.
The Ugandan-born, immigrant-turned-mayor struck back during an interview on Good Morning America.
"His threats are inevitable. This has nothing to do with safety. It has to do with intimidation," he said.
"If it was safety, President Trump would be threatening to deploy the National Guard to the top ten states of crime, eight out of which are Republican-led," he added.
"But because of that party, he won't actually be doing it."
The immigrant mayor who won't be silenced
Mamdani, who became a naturalised American citizen after college, proudly identifies as the embodiment of resistance to Trump's anti-immigrant agenda.
"New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant," he said in his victory speech.
"So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us."
Trump, in contrast, sees Mamdani's rise as a cautionary tale for the rest of the country.
"If you want to see what congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the result of yesterday's election in New York, where their party installed a communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation," he said.
The feud that's just getting started
The president reportedly spent months trying to undermine Mamdani's campaign, even endorsing former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a onetime Democrat who ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary.
Trump even bypassed his own party's candidate, Curtis Sliwa, urging Republicans to vote tactically to "keep Mamdani out of office."
Now, with Mamdani officially at City Hall, the standoff looks far from over. The mayor-elect has hinted at being open to dialogue, but only on his own terms.
"I will continue to be open to speaking with Donald Trump, to meeting with Donald Trump, all of it on the premise of actually supporting New Yorkers," Mamdani told NBC News.
"But if the president wants to have a conversation about hurting New Yorkers, about sending more ICE agents here to terrorise families, or threatening $18 billion in infrastructure grants being withheld, that's not something I'm going to go along with. That's something I'm going to fight," he said.
Political strategists say this feud could shape the next few years of American politics. As Democratic strategist Basil Smikle put it: "It's going to be a contentious relationship. That's putting it mildly."
And judging by the fiery exchanges so far, neither Trump nor Mamdani plans to turn the volume down anytime soon.
