Mamdani says he won’t back down from tangling with Trump, but seeks to work with him on affordability

During his victory speech Tuesday night, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani directly addressed Donald Trump and told him to “turn the volume up” on his TV as he outlined how he would push back against the president’s threats to defund the city and meddle in his administration.

“We will put an end to the culture of corruption that has allowed billionaires like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks,” the mayor-elect said. “New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”

On Wednesday, Mamdani took a slightly softer tone toward Trump during a press conference at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. The mayor-elect said that while he is not afraid to tangle with the White House when he deems it necessary, he nonetheless is willing to work with the Republican president on ways to address the city’s affordability crisis.

“I will not mince my words when it comes to President Trump, I will continue to describe his actions as they are, and I will also always do so by leaving a door open to have that conversation,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist Queens lawmaker, expressed a desire to speak with Trump about how to address soaring costs in the Big Apple. Trump won reelection last year with a similar focus on lowering costs.

In the past, Mamdani has not been shy about calling Trump an “authoritarian,” condemning his aggressive push to round up and deport undocumented immigrants, cuts to the social safety net, and quest to legally go after his political adversaries — including state Attorney General Letitia James.

For his part, Trump has often sought to belittle Mamdani by calling him as a “communist.” The president also threw a last-minute endorsement at Mamdani’s rival, Andrew Cuomo, in the mayor’s race, slamming what the mayor-elect’s victory could mean for the direction of the Democratic Party without naming him.

The president has threatened to significantly cut vital federal dollars to New York if Mamdani were elected mayor, saying on Monday that it would be “hard” to give the city funds if he were in charge.

Trump has previously hinted that a Mamdani administration could lead him to send the National Guard into the five boroughs — an action he has taken in other cities, but has so far stayed away from in New York.