WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump has said in private conversations with his allies that he believes Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist advocating for government run grocery stores, will be elected New York City’s next mayor.
A senior White House official told the Wall Street Journal that the president thinks Mamdani, who he has labeled a “communist,” will defeat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
On Wednesday, Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, all met for their second and final debate before the November election. While Trump’s son, Eric Trump, has urged for Sliwa to drop out of the race; Trump isn’t convinced that it will make much of a difference for Cuomo to take the election.
For months, Trump has opted out against making public calls to have Sliwa exit the race. The Republican candidate has remained adamant that he would not forfeit his campaign, even when faced with pressure by Trump’s billionaire cronies Bill Ackman and John Catsimatidis.
But on Tuesday, the president has suggested before a gaggle of reporters that Sliwa dropping out wouldn’t make a big difference for Cuomo.
“If he [Sliwa] dropped out, he’s not going to win. And not looking too good for Cuomo either,” Trump said.
“Maybe if he dropped out, Cuomo would have a little bit of a chance. But not much. Because it looks like the lead is—it’s not a great lead, but it’s big enough that he should be able to win.”
Polling conducted by Patriot Polling between October 18 and 19 shows Mamdani with a 11% lead over Cuomo.
“Well, I looked at the polls and looks like we’re going to have a communist as the mayor of New York,” Trump told the reporters.
“It’ll be very interesting. But here’s the good news. He’s got to go through the White House, everything goes through the White House. At least this White House, it does.”
Trump previously threatened to pull federal funding from New York City if Mamdani is elected mayor. The president has already frozen $18 billion in funding for New York City infrastructure projects on the first day of the government shutdown on the grounds to ensure funding is not propping up “unconstitutional DEI principles.”
Meanwhile, Mamdani has made fighting back against Trump a central point in his campaign. During the final debate, he said he would push back against the Trump administration amid the ongoing ICE raids in the city.