NY mayor Zohran Mamdani refuses ‘communist’ tag from Trump, alleges he wants to ‘distract from’ what he’s ‘fighting for’
He doesn't indentify as a communist
Amid fresh controversy over Zohran Mamdani and his conduct at the recent 9/11 ceremony, a video of him from some time ago has gained renewed attention on social media. The clip is from June 2025, before Mamdani became the mayor of New York.
In it, Kristen Welker, while interviewing Mamdani on Meet the Press on NBC News, asks him to comment on Trump’s repeated assertions that he is a communist. Mamdani does not deflect the question but instead replies that he is a Democratic socialist, not a communist, as Trump said.
“No, I’m not, and I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the President will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am,” Mamdani said. Mamdani also stresses that Trump’s focus on aspects like this is an attempt to shift people’s attention from what he is “fighting for,” which includes efforts to reduce income inequality in New York, among other things.
Trump has called Mamdani a communist multiple times in the past
Ahead of the New York mayoral elections in November 2025, Trump repeatedly called Mamdani a communist and warned that, if elected, Mamdani would drive New York into a state of imminent doom. Notably, in June 2025, after Mamdani won the Democratic primary, Trump took to social media to voice his opinions about the feat.
He wrote on Truth Social, “Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor.” He added, “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart.” His habit of calling Mamdani a communist continued even after Mamdani became mayor, but not for long.
Although Trump still says a thing or two about Mamdani, his stance toward him has evidently softened since their eventful White House meeting that made headlines. As videos of Trump giggling and gushing around Mamdani during their meeting spread on social media, many wondered what Mamdani said to him that changed his heart so significantly.
The Mamdani and AOC controversy
Zohram Mamdani found himself in the middle of yet another controversy recently while attending the 9/11 ceremony in New York. He already had a lot of eyes on him, as several Republicans in positions of power, including former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, had opposed his presence at the event.
Despite the criticism, Mamdani attended the event and even shook hands with Giuliani. However, soon became part of a debate over a widely circulated clip. The clip shows AOC and Mamdani sharing a laugh while a person reads out a few names of what seem to be those who lost their lives during 9/11. Since then, some people, including a close aide of Giuliani’s, have debunked the clip, but anti-Mamdani conversations on social media are still very much alive.
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