Trump walks back fedal funding warning, says he'll help Mamdani "a little bit" in New York

Miami [US], November 6 (ANI): Days after warning that he could slash federal funding to New York City if Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral race, US President Donald Trump appeared to backtrack on his stance after Mamdani decisive win on Tuesday.

Speaking at America Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday, Trump, who had earlier called Mamdani a "communist", suggested he was open to offering limited federal support to New York, despite his sharp criticism of the incoming mayor.

"The communist, Marxist socialists and globalists had their chance, and they delivered nothing but disaster. And now let's see how a communist does in New York," Trump said, before adding, "We're going to see how that works out. And we'll help them. We'll help them. We want New York to be successful. We'll help them a little bit, maybe."

The remarks mark a shift from Trump's earlier warning ahead of the election, when he threatened to restrict federal funding "other than the very minimum as required" if Mamdani emerged victorious. In a Truth Social post last week, Trump said New York would face a "complete and total disaster" under Mamdani's leadership and vowed not to send "good money after bad."

In his Miami speech, however, Trump maintained his criticism of Mamdani's political ideology, calling him a "communist" and linking his rise to what he described as a broader leftward drift within the Democratic Party.

"If you want to see what Congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the results of yesterday's election in New York, where their party installed a communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation," Trump said at the American Business Forum. "Remember, I said we will never have a socialist elected to any post in our country? I used to say that ... we skipped socialists, we put in the communists instead."

Despite the biting tone, Trump's later comments about "helping" New York mark a subtle but notable shift from his earlier comments.

Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, achieved a historic win as voters turned New York City blue once again. The 34-year-old Assemblyman from Queens became the city's first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in over a century, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Born in Uganda to filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, the new mayor secured more than a million votes, the highest for any New York mayoral candidate in three decades, according to The Hill. Mamdani garnered 50.6 per cent of the votes, while Cuomo trailed at 41.7 per cent.

As confetti rained down at his victory bash, Mamdani channelled his Indian roots with poetic flair, quoting Nehru's iconic independence eve address in 1947, the 'Tryst with Destiny'.

Speaking to his supporters, Mamdani cited Nehru's words, saying, "I'm reminded of Jawahar Lal Nehru's words. 'A moment comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.' Tonight, New York has done just that. This new era demands clarity, courage, and vision, not excuses."

Mamdani's victory is a feat to remember, as he is also the first South Asian immigrant to hold the office of Mayor of New York City. (ANI)

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