President Donald Trump is weighing how to handle Zohran Mamdani's rise in New York City politics, a mayoral contest that is forcing the president, a Queens native, to juggle his personal loyalties to the city with the national stakes of his party.
"The president is a New Yorker at heart," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Tuesday's press briefing, The Hill reported Wednesday. "He loves the city very much. It is his home."
Allies of the president say that if Mamdani wins, the victory could allow Trump to portray the nominee, a self-described democratic socialist, as emblematic of a Democratic Party moving too far left as the midterm elections near.
Trump, however, has voiced concern about what Mamdani's leadership could mean for New York City. In recent days, he has urged Mayor Eric Adams and GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa to step aside, a move that would set up a direct contest between Mamdani and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani defeated Cuomo for the Democrat nomination in May, and recent polls show him still running ahead of the former governor.
A New York Times/Siena College poll this week showed Mamdani leading Cuomo in a one-on-one matchup, 48% to 44%, and an Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey released Wednesday found Mamdani with a 15-point lead over Cuomo, 43% to 28%, with Sliwa at 10% and Adams at 7%.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Mamdani, calling him a "communist" and questioning his immigration background, despite Mamdani's legal move to the U.S. as a child. He has also threatened to withhold federal funding if the city adopts policies opposed by the White House.
Still, Trump's allies note that his unusual involvement in a local race reflects his enduring connection to New York, despite years of political hostility and legal battles.
"It may be an arctic blue stronghold, but it's showing you how much he cares about the city," a Trump ally told The Hill.
Meanwhile, prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have stopped short of publicly backing Mamdani in New York City's race.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.