After Hochul’s Mamdani Endorsement, Trump Threatens New York Federal Funding

"Threatening voters and cities over their elections is what authoritarians do," said one progressive organizer Monday after US President Donald Trump did just that—suggesting he would rip federal funding away from New York City, and possibly the state, if democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the November election.

The president's threat came after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, announced her endorsement of Mamdani in an op-ed in The New York Times, after months of pressure from progressives.

Trump said Hochul had "Endorsed the 'Liddle Communist'" and called the governor's support "a rather shocking development."

"How can such a thing happen?" Trump asked of Hochul's endorsement of her own party's popular and charismatic nominee. "Washington will be watching this situation very closely. No reason to be sending good money after bad!"

The comments appeared to be a threat to state or city funding, said critics including Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health.

"Donald Trump is threatening to withhold money from NYC if they elect Zohran Mamdani, who [is] standing up to his billionaire donor buddies, instead of his friend [former Gov.] Andrew Cuomo who will roll over for them," said D'Arrigo, referring to reports that Trump has considered helping Cuomo, who lost the primary to Mamdani in June but is running as an independent in the general election, and to Cuomo's own comments about the positive relationship he would have with the president if elected mayor.

Another observer accused Trump of "using taxpayer money as a gun to voters' heads."

Mamdani, a Democratic member of the state Assembly, won the primary in June, decisively beating Cuomo—who had rapidly plummeted in the polls leading up to the primary vote as Mamdani promoted a policy agenda laser-focused on making the city more affordable and engaged directly with New Yorkers across the five boroughs.

Despite Mamdani's victory, Hochul has been among a number of powerful Democratic politicians who refused to endorse the party's nominee to lead the nation's largest city following the primary, leading to condemnation from progressive organizers and lawmakers including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

New York Democrats House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand have all declined to endorse Mamdani thus far, with Jeffries falsely claiming Mamdani has not won over voters in the House leader's district and Gillibrand suggesting as recently as last week that Mamdani has fueled antisemitism by not condemning phrases associated with Palestinian resistance.

Hochul relented on Sunday, writing that she has had "disagreements" with Mamdani in conversations they've had in recent weeks, but that in their talks she has "heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family."

"I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable—a goal I enthusiastically support," she added.

Trump also ran his reelection campaign last year on promises of lowering the cost of living for Americans—but while Mamdani has backed up his pledge of improving affordability with policy proposals like fare-free buses, a network of city-owned grocery stores, and no-cost universal childcare, the president has pushed a spending bill that's expected to increase the number of uninsured people by 14.2 million and has restarted student debt collection, ending a Biden-era program to make payments more affordable and threatening to garnish the wages of struggling borrowers.

The president previously threatened New York City's funding in June and said in July that his administration could take over the city's government if Mamdani wins the November election and enacts policies Trump doesn't support.

"If he does get in, I’m gonna be president and he’s gonna have to do the right thing or they’re not getting any money. He’s gotta do the right thing,” Trump said on Fox News. “If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same... We have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to."

At The New Republic last week, Alex Shephard wrote that by refusing to throw their considerable influence behind Mamdani, Schumer, Jeffries, and Gillibrand are "suggesting that they will throw him—and the city he represents—to the wolves come 2026."

"Trump has made it clear that he hopes to target New York City just as he's done to Los Angeles and Washington, DC—with deployed National Guard troops and ICE agents running rampant," wrote Shephard.

Democrats including Schumer and Jeffries, he added, "are shooting their party in the foot... Predominantly renters, Mamdani’s voters were also disproportionately young, Asian, and Hispanic—all groups that moved toward Trump in last year’s election, and that Democrats will need if they want to take back Congress and the White House."

"Democrats say they are determined to be a big-tent party," Shephard continued. "But somehow there’s no room in it for the politicians who can actually help fill it?"