‘Won't Accept Intimidation’: Zohran Mamdani Responds To Donald Trump’s ‘Arrest’ Threats

Last Updated:July 02, 2025, 08:06 IST

Issuing a statement following Trump's threats, Zohran Mamdani said that such comments are “an attack on our democracy” and “intimidation.”

NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and US President Donald Trump. (File)

New York’s Indian-origin Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has denounced US President Donald Trump’s threat to arrest him over his pledge to push back on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, saying that he “will not accept this intimidation" by the President.

Trump said during a Tuesday press conference at a detention center in Florida referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz" that if Mamdani prevents ICE agents from conducting its operations to deport people, then “we’ll have to arrest him."

The son of Indian‑born filmmaker Mira Nair and Indian‑Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, Zohran Mamdani officially became the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City on Tuesday and will face the general election in November.

What Zohran Mamdani Said?

Issuing a statement following Trump’s threats, Mamdani said that such comments are “an attack on our democracy" and “intimidation."

Condemned the Trump Administration’s efforts to conduct mass deportations, he promised in a speech the night of the primary election to use his authority to “stop masked ICE agents from deporting the immigrants.

“The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorise our city," Mamdani said.

“His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadow: if you speak up, they will come for you."

He also attacked Trump for praising New York’s current Mayor, Eric Adams, “in his authoritarian threats".

What Donald Trump Said?

Trump on Tuesday said that the New York City Democratic nominee for mayor is a “pure, true communist" and a “total nut job" and added that he will “have a lot of fun with him" if he is elected.

He also warned that Mamdani would face consequences if he resists federal immigration enforcement.

Trump, who has branded Mamdani a “pure, true communist", said he will be “watching him very carefully on behalf of the nation".

“Well then we’ll have just to arrest him. 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. We send him money, we send him all the things that he needs to run a government and by the way, they get already about three times what you get. If you look at per capita, Florida gets one-third of what New York gets," Trump said at an immigration detention centre in Florida.

Since Mamdani’s shock win last week against a scandal-scarred political heavyweight, Trump and his collaborators have accused the 32-year-old son of award-winning filmmaker Mira Nair of being a radical extremist.

In earlier remarks, in a video by Bloomberg TV, he went off on a rant about Mamdani by calling him “terrible" while explaining how he had heard that he is “a total nutjob" and the “people of New York are crazy" (to have chosen him).

“I think he’s terrible, he’s a communist. The last thing we need is a communist…it’s going to be a lot of fun watching…don’t worry, he’s not going to run away with anything," he is heard saying in the video.

Trump also denounced Mamdani profusely, calling him a lunatic and a communist as he called for his arrest. The President also raised doubts over the legality of Mamdani’s citizenship, who came to the US in 1998 when he was seven years old.

“A lot of people are saying he (Mamdani) is here illegally. You know we are going to look over everything. And ideally, he’s going to turn out to be much less than a communist but right now he’s a communist. That’s not a socialist," he added.

Who Is Zohran Mamdani?

Zohran Kwame Mamdani is the son of Indian-origin immigrant parents: his mother is the Padma Bhushan awardee Mira Nair, who has Punjabi roots from Delhi and grew up in Odisha; while his father is the academic Mahmood Mamdani, who is Ugandan and traces his roots to Gujarat.

Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, on October 18, 1991, and raised in New York City. He moved to New York with his parents when he was seven. His mother Mira Nair has won applause for films like ‘Monsoon Wedding’ and ‘Salaam Bombay!’.

Mamdani, who took New York City by storm with his campaign and an enthusiastic endorsement from another internet favourite, Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, was declared victorious in the Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday.

He is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America party — the kind of niche, leftist affiliation that many Democratic leaders believe their party needs to shed.

If Mamdani wins the final race, he will become New York’s first Muslim mayor.

However, Several Republicans are pushing for the cancellation of Mamdani’s citizenship, as he became a US citizen only in 2018.

New York, United States of America (USA)

News world ‘Won't Accept Intimidation’: Zohran Mamdani Responds To Donald Trump’s ‘Arrest’ Threats