In a bold public challenge to President Donald Trump, New York City’s incoming mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, declared he will turn to the courts if the president follows through on earlier threats to withhold federal funding from the city.
Speaking in a post-election interview, Mamdani said: “The first thing is, you actually utilize the courts. You stop treating things as being law just by virtue of the fact that President Trump is saying them.” He cited the example of California resisting federal National Guard deployment as a model of legal push-back.
His comments come after Trump publicly labelled Mamdani a “communist” ahead of the election and vowed to cut off city funding should Mamdani win.
Mamdani addressed the president directly at his victory celebration: “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.” He also pledged that while he is willing to work with the president on shared goals such as lowering living costs, his primary responsibility is to New Yorkers — and if the city is targeted, “I will be there standing up for them every step of the way.”
The confrontation signals a potentially combative relationship between the incoming New York administration and the White House. With legal avenues now on the table, observers will watch how this dynamic unfolds — especially around issues of federal funding, local autonomy, and constitutional limits on executive power.
