US President Donald Trump threatened New York City ahead of the mayoral race with financial consequences if Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani wins.
"If Communist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the New York mayoral race, it is highly unlikely that I will give my beloved hometown more than the minimum federal funds allowed by law," Trump wrote on his online platform Truth Social. With the 34-year-old rookie in office, "this once-great city has no chance of success or even survival".
This is far from the first time the president has threatened to cut federal funding over political differences. During his second term, Trump has repeatedly resorted to such threats.
Mamdani leads convincingly in the polls
In the polls, Mamdani, who describes himself as a "democratic socialist", leads by a significant margin in today's mayoral election over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate.
Incumbent Democratic Mayor Eric Adams withdrew his candidacy in September after corruption allegations were made against him.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa does not have much of a chance in the liberal metropolis on the East Coast. This is abundantly clear to Donald Trump himself, who even wrote that every vote for Sliwa is "a vote for Mamdani". Instead, the president urged voters to vote for Cuomo, even though he has been casting himself as the polar opposite of Trump during the coronavirus pandemic. "Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You should vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job," Trump wrote.
Will Mamdani become New York City's first Muslim mayor?
Mamdani is a New York state assemblyman and, as a member of the "Democratic Socialists of America", belongs to the left wing of the Democratic Party. During the election campaign, he promised, among other things, rent control, free busing, and free daycare. He plans to finance these measures with higher taxes on the wealthy and companies.
If he wins the election, Zohran Mamdani will become the first Muslim mayor of the city of more than eight million residents - and one of Trump's most prominent opponents. Polls close on Wednesday at 4 a.m. Bulgarian time, after which the first results are expected.