Trump would rather see a ‘bad Democrat’ win NYC than the frontrunner, but vows to meet him face-to-face if he wins

President Donald Trump gave his opinion on who should run New York City during a CBS 60 Minutes interview. He spoke about the election happening this Tuesday and didn’t hold back his feelings about Zohran Mamdani, who’s way ahead in polls as the clear front-runner.

Reporter Norah O’Donnell called Mamdani a democratic socialist who has strong support from voters. Trump immediately jumped in to correct her. “Communist, not socialist,” Trump said. “He’s far worse than a socialist.” O’Donnell then asked Trump how he would handle things if Mamdani ends up winning. Trump said New York City might have trouble getting federal money under Mamdani’s leadership. 

“It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York,” Trump told her, “Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there. So I don’t know that he’s won, and I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s gonna be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.”

But here’s the wild part about Trump’s stance

Trump had harsh words for Mamdani and even talked about possibly holding back federal funding. But when O’Donnell asked if he would actually talk to Mamdani face to face, Trump said yes without hesitation. “Yeah, I’ll speak to him,” Trump said. “I think I have an obligation to speak to him.”

That answer is pretty surprising considering how much Trump has attacked Mamdani over the past few months. Trump has said Mamdani would be terrible for New York and that his win wouldn’t make sense. He even mentioned the possibility of sending military forces into the city if Mamdani becomes the next mayor.

Trump’s involvement has brought even more attention to a race that was already getting plenty of coverage. Polls show Mamdani is ahead of Andrew Cuomo, the former New York Governor, by double digits, with voters warming to his policies of making life more affordable through ideas like free public buses, cheaper housing, and childcare that everyone can access.

Trump chose not to support any of the candidates last month, including Curtis Sliwa who is running as a Republican. The things Trump said during his 60 Minutes appearance have started conversations about how the president and city officials might work together if Mamdani wins this Tuesday. New York City depends heavily on money from the federal government to keep basic services running for its residents.