'Turn the volume up': Trump calls Mamdani's victory speech 'very dangerous'

US President Donald Trump has called New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's victory speech "very dangerous."

Mamdani secured more than 50% of the votes in Tuesday's New York City mayoral election, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. In his victory speech, the 34-year-old directly addressed Trump, urging him to "turn the volume up" and declaring that "to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us," reported The Telegraph. 

Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday (5 October) night, Trump said Mamdani should be more "respectful of Washington." 

He added, "I would like to see the new mayor do well because I love New York. It's a very dangerous statement for him to make. He has to be a little bit respectful of Washington, because if he's not, he doesn't have a chance of succeeding,"

Asked if he had spoken to Mamdani, Trump said, "We'll see what happens. But I think it would be more appropriate for him to reach out to us."

Trump, who endorsed Cuomo, had earlier called Mamdani a "communist" and warned he would withhold federal funding if he was elected. On the eve of the vote, Trump wrote on Truth Social that New York had "zero chance of success" under a "communist" leader and said he would only provide the minimum federal funds required.

In October, the White House froze billions of dollars in funding for New York transport projects.

According to the report, the election was seen as the first test of Trump's second presidency ahead of next year's midterms. Results in Virginia and New Jersey showed swings towards Democrats, suggesting a weakening of Trump's coalition of younger voters and minorities.

Trump said Republicans lost because he wasn't on the ballot and claimed they failed to address the cost of living. "The biggest problem is Republicans don't talk about it," he said. "They don't talk about the word 'affordability', and Democrats lie about it."

White House deputy chief of staff James Blair told Politico, an American news outlet, that Trump would focus more on affordability next year, saying all the fundamentals are there for an economic turnaround.