By News18
As the feud between US President Donald Trump and New York鈥檚 Democratic nominee for mayor, Zohran Mamdani, spiralled on Wednesday, the latter has now alleged Trump was attacking him as the President was 鈥渄esperate to distract from his war鈥.
The mayor, speaking to reporters, also alleged the US President has 鈥渂etrayed the working class Americans鈥 and that Trump鈥檚 legislation would take healthcare away from people.
鈥淵esterday, Donald Trump said that I should be arrested, that I should be deported, that I should be de-naturalised, and he said those things about me, someone who stands to be the first immigrant mayor of this city in generations, someone who would also be the first Muslim and the first South Asian mayor in the city鈥檚 history,鈥 Mamdani said while addressing reporters.
鈥溾ess so because of who I am, because of where I come from, because of how I look or how I speak, and more so because he wants to distract from what I fight for,鈥 Mamdani said.
鈥淚 fight for working people. I fight for the very people that have been priced out of this city, and I fight for the same people that he said he was fighting for. This is the same President who ran on a campaign of cheaper groceries, who ran on a campaign about easing a suffocating cost of living crisis, and ultimately, it is easier for him to fan the flames of division than to acknowledge the ways in which he has betrayed those working class Americans, not just in the city, but across this country.鈥
鈥淎nd the ways in which he continues to betray them, because we know that he would rather speak about me than speak about the legislation that he is shepherding through Washington, DC, legislation that will quite literally take healthcare away from Americans, legislation that will steal food from the hungry, legislation that looks to build upon one of the largest transfers of wealth we鈥檝e seen in recent history in his first administration, and do it once again for the very Americans who already have enough,鈥 Mamdani alleged.
鈥淲e should be fighting for those who do not have what they need to live a dignified life. That is what I will do, and I am thankful to have the protection and to have the support of so many New Yorkers who have stood up and said how unacceptable this is, including our governor, including members of the labour movement,鈥 he added.
鈥淎nd ultimately what I feel for is that if this is what Donald Trump and his administration feel comfortable about saying, about the Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City, imagine what they feel comfortable saying and doing about immigrants whose names they don鈥檛 even know,鈥 Mamdani said.
Donald Trump is attacking me because he is desperate to distract from his war on working people. We must and we will fight back. pic.twitter.com/pKEwnijJaG
鈥 Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) July 2, 2025
DONALD TRUMP VS ZOHRAN MAMDANI
The US President has in recent days escalated his attacks against the 33-year-old democratic socialist, and threatened to arrest Mamdani, to deport him, and even to take over the country鈥檚 largest city if he wins the general election in November.
鈥淎s President of the United States, I鈥檓 not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers and have all the cards,鈥 Trump wrote in a message on his Truth Social site Wednesday morning.
鈥淚鈥檒l save New York City, and make it 鈥楬ot鈥 and 鈥楪reat鈥 again, just like I did with the Good Ol鈥 USA!鈥 he added.
Since Mamdani鈥檚 win over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Republicans have repeatedly highlighted his most controversial past comments and positions, casting him as dangerous, a communist, and an antisemite, and trying to tie him to all other Democratic officials.
The attacks have also included intense criticism of his platform, as well as blatantly xenophobic and Islamophobic attacks.
He has also drawn intense criticism from members of both parties over his pro-Palestinian advocacy, which has included describing Israel鈥檚 war in Gaza as 鈥済enocide,鈥 his refusal to disavow use of the phrase 鈥済lobalise the intifada,鈥 which is seen as a call to violence for many Jews.
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