Trump says it’d be ‘hard’ to send money to a ‘communist’ mayor in NYC
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President Donald Trump shared his thoughts on the New York City mayoral race in an exclusive interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday.
CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell spoke with Trump about several hot topics, including the ongoing government shutdown, immigration raids and international tariffs. O’Donnell also asked about Tuesday’s election.
“Zohran Mamdani, 34-year-old Democratic Socialist. Pioneer…” O’Donnell began.
“Communist, not socialist,” Trump interrupted. “Much worse than a socialist.”
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President Donald Trump said he plans to meet with Zohran Mamdani if he is elected mayor of New York. (Getty Images)
“Some people compared him to your left-wing version, a charismatic old rule-breaker. What do you think about that?” O’Donnell asked.
“Well, I guess I’m a much better looking person than him, aren’t I?” Trump replied.
O’Donnell then asked Trump what he would do if Mamdani, whom he called a communist, became mayor.
“As president, it will be difficult for me to give a lot of money to New York,” Trump said. “Because if a communist runs New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there. So I don’t know if he won, and I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’ll always choose the bad Democrat, honestly.”
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New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is currently the frontrunner in the race. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
Last month, Trump refused to endorse any candidate in the New York City mayoral race, including Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. He added that he still plans to meet Mamdani if he wins the election.
“Yes, I will talk to him,” Trump said. “I think I need to talk to him.”
Mamdani currently sits at least ten points ahead of his closest rival, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
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Sunday’s interview was Trump’s first appearance on a CBS show since signing with CBS parent company Paramount. Trump sued the companies over an edited interview with then-Vice President Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
President Donald Trump has not appeared on “60 Minutes” since 2020. (Screenshot/GIS)
Paramount Global agreed to pay Trump $16 million but did not acknowledge any journalistic errors in the settlement. But sources told Fox News Digital that CBS has agreed to update its editorial standards and add a new rule requiring the release of full, unedited transcripts of future presidential candidates’ interviews.
The session was also Trump’s first “60 Minutes” appearance since October 2020, when he repeatedly interrupted host Lesley Stahl during what she later called an “extremely hostile” interview. Trump abruptly left the interview, ending the segment.
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Trump has rejected invitations to attend ahead of the 2024 presidential election and has previously said he will not return until he receives an apology.
Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
