New York, 4 Nov

New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said US President Donald Trump is “threatened” by his campaign, as the American leader warned voters that the City’s “survival” is at risk if the Democratic nominee wins.

“You can clearly see that Donald Trump is threatened by our campaign. He’s threatened by it because we’ve diagnosed the crisis in working class New Yorkers’ lives - the cost of living," Mamdani said in aninterview to CNN on election eve Monday.

"But unlike him, we’re actually going to deliver on that. And that is a contrast that he can’t bear to see, because while he is spending USD 300 million remodelling a White House ballroom, the same amount of money that could provide SNAP benefits for 100,000 New Yorkers,” he added.

He made a reference to the American food aid programme that is impacted amid the ongoing government shutdown.

As the New York City mayoral race entered its final lap with New Yorkers going to polls on Election Day Tuesday, Trump warned voters that the city will be a “complete and total economic and social disaster” and would not survive if Mamdani won the mayoral race.

Trump also officially endorsed former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo for the top city post.

“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!

“It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad. It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win,” Trump said.

Mamdani said that Trump is trying to make it harder for Americans across the country to afford groceries.

“And this money that we’re talking about, it’s money that New York City is owed. It’s not Donald Trump’s to decide which city or state will get what money. This is the money that New Yorkers are owed, and this is the money that we’re going to fight for,” Mamdani said.

In an official endorsement of the former New York State governor, Trump said “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”

Indian-descent Mamdani, 34, born in Uganda and raised in New York City, is a New York State Assembly member and democratic socialist running for Mayor.

The Democratic nominee will face-off against Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate and the Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa on the ballots.

Slamming Mamdani, Trump said his principles have been tested for over a thousand years, and never once have they been successful.

“I would much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN, than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE,” Trump said.

Describing Mamdani as a “nothing” in his role as an Assemblyman, Trump said he ranked at the bottom of the class and, as Mayor of potentially, again, the Greatest City in the World, HE HAS NO CHANCE to bring it back to its former Glory!”

“We must also remember this — A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani,” Trump said.

On Trump’s endorsement of Cuomo, Mamdani said, “We’ve known since the Primary that Andrew Cuomo was funded by the same billionaires that gave us Donald Trump’s second term…even just until these final days, (Cuomo) denied that he was Donald Trump’s preferred candidate."

“But now it’s written out for the entire world to see. This is the man that Donald Trump wants to be the next mayor of New York City, and not because he’ll be good for New Yorkers but because he’ll be good for Donald Trump and New Yorkers are exhausted of this agenda in Washington. They don’t want to see a mimic of it come here to City Hall,” Mamdani said, referring to the seat of New York City government.

Current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, whose administration has been plagued by scandals, had dropped out of the mayoral race in September.

4 November is election day across the US, with polls opening from 6 am to 9 pm. Early voting period, which commenced 25 October, ended on Sunday.

Mamdani, the son of renowned Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, a Ugandan author of Indian ancestry, upset Cuomo in the Democratic primary race for New York City mayor and was declared victorious in June this year.

The Board of Elections has said that more than 735,000 people voted early in this election, which is about four times more than the number of ballots cast during the 2021 elections.

Mamdani has emerged as the front-runner in the NYC Mayoralelection race and had promised to “lower costs and make life easier” for New Yorkers as the city gets “too expensive”.

Mamdani has vowed that as Mayor, he will immediately freeze the rent for all stabilised tenants, and use every available resource to build the housing New Yorkers need and bring down the rent.