President Donald Trump said Thursday that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is "destroying New York" and that the federal government should stop funding a city that "has no chance."
Trump reprised a threat he made before the New York mayoral election to cut federal funding if Mamdani won.
"Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
"The United States of America should not contribute to its failure. It will only get WORSE," he continued.
"The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG. People are fleeing. They must change their ways, AND FAST," he wrote.
"History has proven, THIS 'STUFF' JUST DOESN'T WORK. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT"
Mamdani, 34, took office Jan. 1 as the city's first Muslim mayor and a self-described democratic socialist.
His fiscal plan targets corporations and top earners to fund free buses, universal childcare and affordable housing.
The Mamdani administration has circulated a revised proposal that would raise roughly $1.75 billion annually through taxes on corporations and unincorporated businesses operating in the city, scaled back from a statewide hike on which he campaigned.
Albany has to approve it.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has called corporate and income tax hikes "nonstarters." As a compromise, the Democrat endorsed a pied-a-terre tax on expensive secondary residences, which is projected to yield about $500 million a year.
Before the November 2025 election, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that it was "highly unlikely" he would contribute federal funds beyond "the very minimum as required" if Mamdani won, and that it was his "strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win."
The political picture is mixed.
A recent Emerson College poll at Mamdani's 100-day mark found 43% approval, 27% disapproval and 59% of respondents saying the city is on the wrong track.
A Marist poll taken in late March told a different story: 55% of city residents viewed the mayor favorably, and 56% said New York was moving in the right direction, a sharp reversal from October 2025, when 66% said it was off course.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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