"Will not accept intimidation": Zohran Mamdani to Donald Trump over arrest threat

Mangalore Today News Network

Washington, July 2, 2025: New York’s Indian origin mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani refused to be "intimidated" by US President Donald Trump, after the Republican said his administration would have the Democrat arrested if he stops Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from doing its work in America’s most populous city. Rising star of American socialism, Mamdani, officially became the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City on Tuesday and will face the general election in November. 

Following his official confirmation as the Democratic candidate, Trump denounced Mamdani profusely, calling him a lunatic and a communist as he called for his arrest. The President also raised doubts over the legality of Mamdani’s citizenship, who came to the US in 1998 when he was seven years old.

Zohran Mamdani’s Reply

Mamdani issued a statement on Tuesday following Trump’s threats, saying he "will not accept this intimidation" by the President. 

"The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorise our city," Mamdani said.

"His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadow: if you speak up, they will come for you."

The Democrat also attacked Trump for praising New York’s current Mayor, Eric Adams, "in his authoritarian threats". He said Trump’s praises for Adams--who was elected in 2021 as a Democrat but is running as an independent--are unsurprising, "but highlights the urgency of bringing an end to this Mayor’s time in City Hall."

My statement on Donald Trump’s threat to deport me and his praise for Eric Adams, who the President "helped out" of legal accountability. https://t.co/m7pNcT2DFS pic.twitter.com/UcYakMx4lI

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) July 1, 2025

"At the very moment when MAGA (make America great again) Republicans are attempting to destroy the social safety net, kick millions of New Yorkers off of healthcare and enrich their billionaire donors at the expense of working families, it is a scandal that Eric Adams echoes this President’s division, distraction and hate. Voters will resoundingly reject it in November," he said.

Polling currently shows him ahead of current Mayor Eric Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa for the November vote. Mamdani and others have accused the mayor of allowing the Trump administration to conduct immigration raids in exchange for burying federal corruption charges against Adams.

Mamdani -- a 33-year-old hyper-adept social media user whose campaign clips showcased his accessibility and drew millions of views -- also posted a video Tuesday explaining how he "shocked the establishment and redrew the political map with a campaign relentlessly focused on the needs of working people."

He noted Trump drew surprisingly strong support in New York City in the 2024 election, and explained how campaigning relentlessly in neighbourhoods with minority, working class and immigrant populations, he was able to bring disaffected voters back to the Democratic fold.

"We can win back voters many have written off if we give them something to vote for, not just tell them what to be against," Mamdani said.

"We shattered everyone’s expectations -- including our own."

What Trump’s Said

Trump on Tuesday said that the New York City Democratic nominee for mayor is a "pure, true communist" and a "total nut job" and added that he will "have a lot of fun with him" if he is elected. 

"Well then we’ll have just to arrest him. Look, we don’t need a communist in this country but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation. We send him money, we send him all the things that he needs to run a government and by the way, they get already about three times what you get. If you look at per capita, Florida gets one-third of what New York gets," Trump said at an immigration roundtable at the New Florida Detention Facility.

"A lot of people are saying he (Mamdani) is here illegally. You know we are going to look over everything. And ideally, he’s going to turn out to be much less than a communist but right now he’s a communist. That’s not a socialist," he added. 

Row Over Mamdani’s Citizenship

Born in Uganda to South Asian parents, New York state assemblyman Mamdani would be the first Muslim mayor of the heavily Democratic city if he wins the general election in November. Several Republicans are pushing for the cancellation of Mamdani’s citizenship, as he became a US citizen only in 2018.