US President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City if Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani does not "do the right thing" as mayor.
Trump issued the warning during a Fox News interview aired on Sunday, targeting Mamdani, who secured the Democratic nomination for mayor on June 24.
"If he does get in, I am going to be president, and he is going to have to do the right thing, or they are not getting any money. He has got to do the right thing," Trump said.
He expanded his threat to any future New York mayor, saying: "Whoever is mayor of New York is going to have to behave themselves, or the federal government is coming down very tough on them financially."
Trump had previously threatened various states and universities with federal funding cuts if they did not comply with his policies.
He labelled Mamdani a "communist" and expressed shock at his potential victory.
"He is a communist. I think it is very bad for New York," he said.
"It is shocking," he said, adding: "I used to say we will never have a socialist in this country, no, but we will have a communist."
Mamdani defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday's primary, positioning himself to become New York City’s first Muslim mayor.
The Democratic nominee has been a vocal supporter of Palestine and critic of Israel. He co-founded the Bowdoin College chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and in 2023 joined a hunger strike outside the White House demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
