President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a strong warning to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, stating that if Mamdani follows through on his pledge to obstruct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the city, he could face arrest, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.
Speaking during a press conference in Florida, President Trump criticized Mamdani, calling him a “radical Communist” and suggesting his defiance of federal immigration enforcement would not be tolerated.

Mamdani has previously declared his intention to turn New York City into an “ICE-free zone” and to block agents from arresting criminal aliens in the city.
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“Mr. President, your beloved New York City—your beloved New York City may well be led by a Communist soon: Zohran Mamdani, who in his nomination speech said he will defy ICE and will not allow ICE to arrest criminal aliens in New York City. Your message to Communists, Zohran Mamdani?” a reporter asked during the press conference.
“Well, then we’ll have to arrest him,” President Trump responded. “Look, we don’t need a Communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.”
President Trump went on to note the amount of federal funding sent to New York City, saying, “We send him money. We send him all the things that he needs to run a government. And by the way, they already get about three times what you get to run. If you look at the per capita, Florida gets one-third of what New York gets in terms of the numbers.”
BREAKING: President Trump says that if Mamdani blocks ICE, we’ll just have to arrest him.
This is the way. pic.twitter.com/mo4ekFY7Ck
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 1, 2025
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Mamdani responded to Trump’s remarks by claiming victimization.
“The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city.”
He added, “We will not accept this intimidation.”
My statement on Donald Trump’s threat to deport me and his praise for Eric Adams, who the President “helped out” of legal accountability. https://t.co/m7pNcT2DFS pic.twitter.com/UcYakMx4lI
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) July 1, 2025
Mamdani, a sitting New York State Assemblyman representing Queens, is a self-proclaimed socialist and supporter of sanctuary city policies.
His platform includes opposing cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and enacting policies that would restrict ICE activity within New York City limits.
The confrontation between President Trump and Mamdani underscores growing tensions between the federal government and progressive municipal officials who continue to advocate for sanctuary policies in defiance of federal immigration law.
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