'We'll Have To Arrest Him': What Trump Said About 'Communist' Mamdani's Stand On Illegal Immigrants

Last Updated:July 01, 2025, 23:19 IST

US President Donald Trump also called NYC Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani "terrible" saying he has heard that he is "a total nutjob"

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One and departing the White House on July 1. (Image: AFP)

American President Donald Trump has a message for “communist" Zohran Mamdani – the winner of New York City’s mayoral Democratic primary – if he does not allow the arrest of alleged illegal immigrants: “Well, then we’ll have to arrest him."

Trump, who has branded Mamdani a “pure, true communist", said he will be “watching him very carefully on behalf of the nation".

During a press conference on Tuesday, when a reporter asked Trump what he has to say about Mamdani’s stand that he will not allow ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to arrest “criminal immigrants", he said, “Well, then we’ll have to arrest him. We don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one I’m going to be watching him very carefully on behalf of the nation…"

Since Mamdani’s shock win last week against a scandal-scarred political heavyweight, Trump and his collaborators have accused the 32-year-old son of award-winning filmmaker Mira Nair of being a radical extremist.

In earlier remarks, in a video by Bloomberg TV, he goes off on a rant about Mamdani calling him “terrible" while explaining how he had heard that he is “a total nutjob" and the “people of New York are crazy" (to have chosen him).

“I think he’s terrible, he’s a communist. The last thing we need is a communist…it’s going to be a lot of fun watching…don’t worry, he’s not going to run away with anything," he is heard saying in the video.

“Frankly, I’ve heard he’s a total nutjob. I think the people of New York are crazy. We will have a communist for the first time, really – a pure, true communist. He wants to operate the grocery stores, the department stores…I think it’s crazy," he adds.

His aggressive criticism of the self-described democratic socialist is sure to ramp up over the coming months as the Republicans seek to push Democrats away from the political centre and frame them as too radical to win major US elections.

“He’s pure communist" and a “radical leftist… lunatic," he also told Fox News. “I think it’s very bad for New York," he said.

Trump grew up in New York City and built his sprawling real estate business there. “If he does get in, I’m going to be president and he is going to have to do the right thing (or) they’re not getting any money," he added.

White House has repeatedly threatened to curb funding for Democratic-led US cities if they oppose his policies, including cutting off money to so-called sanctuary cities which limit their cooperation with immigration authorities.

HAS MAMDANI RESPONDED TO TRUMP?

Mamdani, however, said he is “not a communist". Asked directly on NBC’s Meet the Press whether he is one, he responded: “No, I am not. And I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am, ultimately because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for."

The Ugandan-born state assemblyman had trailed former governor Andrew Cuomo in polls but surged on a message of lower rents, free daycare and buses, and other populist ideas in the notoriously expensive metropolis.

Although registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one in New York, victory for Mamdani in November is not assured. If he does win, he will become the city’s first Muslim mayor.

(With AFP inputs)

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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