Dec. 31, 2025, 12:00 p.m. ET
It was a New York City-sized feud – two Queens guys who figured they knew what was best for the Big Apple, verbally duking it out, one from the White House and the other from the mayoral campaign trail.
Long before he became mayor–elect of America’s largest city, Zohran Mamdani, who lived in Astoria for years, emerged as a favorite target and leftist boogeyman for President Donald Trump, a Jamaica Estates native who made it big in Manhattan.
During public appearances and social media tirades, Trump seized on Mamdani’s rise as one of the left’s leading figures to warn that he would spell disaster for New York.
Trump took issue with Mamdani’s voice, disparaged his intelligence, regularly railed against his agenda and even offered on social media that he “looks TERRIBLE.” He also called Mamdani a “JEW HATER,” questioned his citizenship and threatened to arrest him and cut off funding for New York if he became mayor.
Mamdani, meanwhile, called Trump a “despot” and pledged to make New York City a bulwark against his presidency.
Then Mamdani won, and both men changed their tune. The 79-year-old two-term president welcomed the 34-year-old mayor-elect into the White House for a chummy face-to-face and declared afterward on social media that it was a “Great Honor” to meet him.
Now the relationship between the two high-profile leaders, one a young political prodigy and the other the oldest man ever elected president, enters a new phase as Mamdani wields power over a city Trump called home for decades, and where he built his real estate empire.
Here’s a timeline of their relationship.
June: ‘Big moment’: Trump slams Mamdani after primary win
Mamdani’s primary victory shocked the political establishment and excited progressives. Trump also took notice, warning in a June 25 social media post that “Democrats have crossed the line.”
“We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous,” Trump said.
The president then laced into Mamdani – a democratic socialist who campaigned heavily on bringing down the cost of living – in deeply personal terms, saying, “He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart.” He also called Mamdani a communist, a term he’d frequently misapply to the new mayor.
“This is a big moment in the History of our Country!” the president concluded.
July: Trump threatens Mamdani with arrest, questions his citizenship
Mamdani pledged during his campaign that New York under his leadership wouldn’t assist Trump’s crackdown on immigrants without legal status.
Trump’s response: “Well then, we’ll have to arrest him.”
The president added during a July 1 visit to Florida that “a lot of people are saying he’s here illegally.” Mamdani was born in Uganda and is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Mid-September: Trump threatens New York’s federal funding
Trump continued to target Mamdani as the general election approached, calling him a “Liddle’ Communist” in a Sept. 15 social media post. And he hinted at the idea of withholding federal funds from the city.
“Washington will be watching this situation very closely,” Trump said. “No reason to be sending good money after bad!”
Late September: Mamdani good for Republicans, Trump says
As Mamdani’s campaign gained momentum, Republicans increasingly invoked him to argue that Democrats are too liberal and outside the mainstream.
Mamdani “will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party,” Trump said in a Sept 29 social media post.
The president also expanded on his threat to withhold federal funds from New York City.
“He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City,” Trump said. “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
Trump again threatened New York’s federal funding in a Nov. 3 social media post in which he endorsed Mamdani’s opponent, Andrew Cuomo. And he warned that under Mamdani, “this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!”
October: Mamdani promises to ‘take on Trump’
Trump loomed over the mayor’s race, serving as a frequent foil for Mamdani, who promised to stand up to him.
Asked during the first general election debate on Oct. 16 to say what the headline would be after his first year as mayor, he said, “Mamdani continues to take on Trump, delivers on affordability agenda for New Yorkers.”
A few minutes later, Mamdani said that if Trump “ever wants to come for New Yorkers in the way that he has been, he’s going to have to get through me as the next mayor of this city.”
Election eve, November: Trump calls Mamdani a “JEW HATER”
Mamdani’s views on Israel and the Palestinian territories were closely scrutinized during the campaign. He has advocated boycotting Israel, criticized the war in Gaza and long supported Palestinian rights.
Trump said in a Nov. 4 social media post on the eve of the general election that Jewish individuals shouldn’t back Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, accusing him of hating Jewish people.
“Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!” Trump said.
Mamdani, conversely, repeatedly decried antisemitism during his campaign.
Election night, November: ‘Turn up the volume,’ Mamdani taunts Trump on election night
Celebrating his Nov. 5 victory on election night, Mamdani took aim at Trump in his speech.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mamdani said. “And if there is any way to defeat a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.”
Mamdani continued: “This is not only how we stop Trump ‒ it’s how we stop the next one. So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”
Trump took to social media during Mamdani’s speech.
“…AND SO IT BEGINS!” the president wrote.
Two weeks later, still November: White House love fest
After months of recrimination, the stage was set for a potentially explosive meeting when Mamdani went to visit Trump in the White House following his victory.
What followed was a surprising display of comity.
“I expect to be helping him, not hurting him – a big help,” Trump said. “because I want New York City to be great.”
Trump patted Mamdani on the arm at one point and repeatedly patted his hand. Mamdani talked about working with Trump to address New York City’s affordability issues, and referenced how well he did in the city during the 2024 election as a Republican.
“It was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.
Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Joey Garrison, Bart Jansen
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