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Donald Trump responded to newly-elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s challenge with a terse Truth Social post, saying, “And so it begins!”
File photos of Donald Trump/Zohran Mamdani (AP)
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday fired back at newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with a terse post on Truth Social.
On his official handle, Trump wrote, “And so it begins!”, hours after Mamdani, the 34-year-old Democrat, used his victory speech to directly challenge the President.
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Mamdani, addressing his supporters, had said, “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up!”
The exchange marks the opening salvo in what is expected to be a high-stakes political clash between the mayor and the Republican President.
Mamdani has pledged to make countering Trump’s immigration policies and “authoritarian tendencies” central to his administration, while Trump has already warned of potential federal funding cuts to the city under Mamdani’s leadership.
Democrats swept a trio of races on Tuesday in the first major elections since Trump returned to power nine months ago, elevating a new generation of leaders and injecting fresh momentum into the beleaguered party ahead of next year’s congressional elections.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mamdani told supporters.
“And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it’s how we stop the next one,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly turned the massive powers of the presidency on political rivals, and already before the election had threatened to possibly withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from New York City if Mamdani, a democratic socialist, was elected.
This would follow previous funding cuts by the Trump administration in political moves targeting Democratic congressional leaders, also from the city.
Mamdani acknowledged his win poses a challenge implementing what he calls “the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost-of-living crisis this city has seen” since the 1940s, including a proposed rental freeze, universal childcare and other government actions targeting the private sector.
However, in the meantime, Mamdani pledged to fight.
ALSO READ | Zohran Mamdani Quotes Nehru After New York City Mayoral Win: ‘When An Age Ends…’
General About the Author
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
First Published:
November 05, 2025, 12:05 IST
News world ‘And So It Begins’: Trump Fires Back After Zohran Mamdani’s NYC Mayoral Victory Speech
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