Trump threatens to arrest socialist candidate to New York City Hall

State deputy and winner of primary democrats to New York City Hall Zohran Mamdani reported on Tuesday that he is the target of a direct intimidation by US President Donald Trump.

“His statements are not just an attack on our democracy, but an attempt to send a message to all New York who refuses to hide in the shadows: If you speak up, they will come after you. We won’t accept this intimidation,” he said.

Mamdani’s response came after a series of public threats made by Trump. During a visit on Tuesday to a Migrant Detention Center in Florida, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz”, the president said he will arrest Mamdani if ​​he blocks ICE operations in the city.

“Well, then we will have to arrest him,” Trump said, in reference to the candidate’s commitment to “prevent Ice masked agents from deporting our neighbors.” The president also called him “communist” and falsely claimed that he would be “here illegally.”

The statements were made on the same day Mamdani confirmed his victory in official counting by ranked choice, with 56% of the votes – a result that puts him in the lead to become the first Muslim to govern the largest city in the US.

Mamdani had his victory officially confirmed by the Electoral Board of New York. With 56% of the votes in the count, he surpassed former governor Andrew Cuomo and became the first Muslim to represent a large party in the dispute for the largest city hall.

Born in Uganda and Naturalized American citizen in 2018, Mamdani was also the target of racist insinuations and false allegations that he would be “here illegally.”

Candidate denounces intimidation and says he will not accept forced silence of immigrants

Shortly after the attacks, Mamdani issued a statement classifying the president’s lines as a deliberate attempt to intimidate.

“His statements are not just an attack on our democracy, but an attempt to send a message to all New York who refuses to hide in the shadows: If you speak up, they will come after you. We will not accept this intimidation,” said the deputy.

In an interview with ABC News, Mamdani also countered presidential threats directly. “The president of the United States has just threatened to arrest me, remove my citizenship, put me in a detention field and deport me. Not because I have violated some law, but because I refuse to allow Ice to terrorize our city.”

Given the question if he would accept to dialogue with the federal government, Mamdani replied that he will be willing to work with the Trump administration only if it benefits the local population.

“My approach will never be reactive, whether in agreement or opposition, but if it is at the expense of the New York I propose to serve, so no, I will not work with the administration to harm the people I seek to represent.”

Mamdani allies also suggest that presidential threats fulfill the strategic role of diverting public attention. Deputy Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democratic Minority in the House, wrote: “Stop lying about Deputy Mamdani. New York need not be saved by an aspiring king.”

He then accused Trump of instrumentalizing the attack to cover up the government’s royal agenda. “What’s more, you are too busy destroying the United States with your great horrible project to do anything else,” he said in reference to the Fiscal Megapote approved this week, which cuts out health and food resources to finance exemptions to billionaires and arms.

Popular proposals expose confrontation between classes and are conservative reaction

Self -declared socialist, Mamdani led to primaries a platform centered on social justice, combating real estate speculation and expanding rights.

Defends free buses throughout the city, freezing of stabilized properties, creation of public supermarkets and universal day care programs. To finance these measures, it proposes to increase taxes on large fortunes and corporations, as well as revoke tax exemptions granted to billionaire universities such as NYU and Columbia.

Supported by figures such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani also stated that if elected, he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to New York-due to the war crimes committed in Gaza.

Since then, conservative groups and Zionists have rescued old Mamdani videos with pro-Palestinian lines, which have been labeled as “anti-Semitic” by their critics.

On the other hand, powerful donors and political consultants of the two main subtitles began to act to curb their rise. In addition to Trump, Republican Deputy Andrew Ogles asked the Justice Department to investigate Mamdani and even called him “Little Muhammad” in an attack classified as Islamophobic by civil rights entities.

Democratic leaders react, but warn of risks of political isolation

The escalation of public threats generated harsh reactions from part of the Democratic bench. ” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand apologized to the candidate after distorting his statements on a radio show.

“If you illegally threaten one of our neighbors, you are buying a fight with 20 million New York-starting with me,” he said.

Despite solidarity, more liberal sectors of the party still resist formally endorsement mamdani. Analysts point out that the attempt to criminalize his candidacy is part of a broader movement to contain progressive advances within the caption, especially in cities with aggravated urban inequalities and a strong presence of racialized immigrants.

The municipal election is scheduled for November 4th. In addition to Mamdani, they also compete for Curtis Sliwa, by the Republican Party, and Andrew Cuomo, who launched a new candidacy as independent for the caption “fight and deliver”.

Trump’s authoritarian offensive critics, immigrants and even former

Threats against Zohran Mamdani are part of a broader scenario of authoritarian offensive by the Trump administration against critics, opponents and social movements. Since resumed the government, the president has deepened a intimidation strategy involving federal security agencies and masitive migratory policies.

Last month, Trump ordered Ice to expand deportation operations in cities governed by Democrats such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. In a post on social networks, the president ordered agents to do “everything in their reach” to implement the “largest mass deportation program in history”.

The goal set by the White House is three thousand arrests per day. According to CNN sources, Customs and Border Patrol agents were displaced to these cities in a coordinated operation of arrest internalization, including during migratory hearings and routine inspections in workplaces.

The effects of Trump’s repression also reaches social movements. Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student and former man of Protests Pro-Gaza at Columbia University, was arrested for more than three months and almost deported, despite living legally in the United States.

Justice determined its release in June, but imposed severe limitations on its mobility. Khalil’s arrest, widely criticized by civil rights organizations, has become a symbol of the Trump government’s attempt to suffocate university militancy in Palestine defense.

Not even ex-alleades escape the rhetoric of coercion. Amid Elon Musk’s criticism of the government’s fiscal project, Trump implied that the entrepreneur could be deported.

“Let’s take a look at this,” replied the president when asked by journalists. In a previous post, he said Musk should “return home in South Africa,” and suggested that Doge – a government efficiency department created by Trump and even recently commanded by Musk – could be mobilized against him. The threat came after Musk accused the bill of being “outrageous” and filled with “favors to political allies.”

The combination of institutional persecution to migrants, intimidation to progressive candidates, repression of social movements and veiled threats to major critical entrepreneurs reveals an increasingly explicit authoritarian inflection in Trump’s second term.

The episode involving Zohran Mamdani, far from being an isolated case, illustrates the limits of the so-called American democracy for those who dare challenge the interests of the system.