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'Trump is desperate': Mamdani counters US president's jibes, says 'will fight back'
Zohran Mamdani, New York's Indian-origin mayoral candidate, has fired back at US President Donald Trump after Trump threatened to deport him, calling the president 'desperate.' Mamdani accused Trump of trying to divide people and using personal attacks to distract from his failures to help working-class Americans.
In a video posted on X, Mamdani vowed not to back down, saying he would keep fighting against Republican efforts to silence dissent.
'Yesterday, Donald Trump said that I should be arrested. He said that I should be deported. He said that I should be denaturalised,' Mamdani said during a rally in New York. 'He's saying these things not only because of who I am—a potential first immigrant mayor, first Muslim, and first South Asian mayor of this city—but because he wants to distract from what I fight for. I fight for working people.'
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Since Mamdani's primary victory, Trump has repeatedly attacked him, calling him a 'communist' and a 'lunatic,' and making remarks about his background.
Mamdani criticised Trump for fuelling division instead of addressing the struggles of working-class Americans across the country. He also condemned Trump's major tax and spending proposal, known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which faces a key vote in Congress on Thursday.
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Is Zohran Mamdani at risk of losing his US citizenship?
Mamdani claimed Trump is attacking him to avoid discussing the bill, which he argues would cut healthcare access and leave more people hungry.
His comments come a day after Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani over his promise to limit New York City's cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
'Well then, we'll have to arrest him,' Trump said during a visit to a Florida detention centre, referring to Mamdani's vow not to assist ICE. 'We'll be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.'
Trump also falsely claimed Mamdani might be in the US illegally, saying, 'A lot of people are saying he's here illegally.'
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