President Donald Trump on Friday renewed his public attacks on New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, calling the Democratic nominee “my little communist” in an interview on Fox & Friends less than two months before Election Day.
Trump has repeatedly characterized Mamdani as a communist since the 33-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker captured the Democratic nomination in June. In the interview, Trump said, "I call him my little communist. He's my little communist mayor," and added, "We should never be in a position where we're talking about a communist." Mamdani has denied being a communist.
Mamdani emerged as a surprise frontrunner after his convincing June primary victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other candidates. The Ugandan-born state lawmaker, who would be New York City's first Muslim and first millennial mayor if elected, has built a platform that includes eliminating bus fares, making CUNY tuition-free, freezing rents on municipal housing, expanding free childcare for children up to age 5 and establishing government-run grocery stores.
Two recent polls, from Quinnipiac University and The New York Times/Siena College, show Mamdani holding commanding leads over his rivals in the Democrat-dominated city. Both surveys put him ahead by roughly 22 percentage points over Cuomo and the rest of the field. In hypothetical matchups, the Quinnipiac poll suggested Mamdani would lead Cuomo 46% to 30% if Mayor Eric Adams exited the race, with Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa at 17%. The New York Times/Siena survey found Mamdani ahead 48% to 44% in a two-candidate scenario with Cuomo.
Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary, is running as an independent and has repositioned his campaign in an effort to close the gap. Adams opted not to contest the Democratic primary and launched an independent re-election bid in late June. Sliwa, a co-founder of the Guardian Angels, is the Republican nominee and has trailed the leading Democrats in the polls.
Trump has urged a narrowing of the field, saying last week he would like to see candidates drop out to produce a one-on-one matchup more favorable to defeating Mamdani. "I would like to see two people drop out and have it be one on one," Trump said, arguing that a tighter contest could be won. He also questioned Sliwa's appeal, saying, "Look, I'm a Republican, but Curtis is not exactly primetime."
Campaign filings, public appearances and interviews show the race remains fluid. Reports in recent weeks have suggested that advisers to the president floated administration roles to potential mayoral dropouts, though the campaigns for Sliwa and Adams have said they intend to stay in the race. Sliwa told Fox News Digital last month that he has not had conversations with Trump about his campaign.
Mamdani has maintained his policy agenda while pushing back against labels applied by opponents and national figures. He has emphasized issues such as public transit affordability, education access and housing stability as central to his campaign.
With Election Day approaching, the dynamics of the New York mayoral contest are likely to be shaped by whether independent candidates remain in the race, how national political figures weigh in and whether the frontrunner can sustain his polling advantage through a general election campaign that will draw intense local and national attention.
