'If he gets in...': Trump vs Zohran Mamdani escalates as US President threatens to pull the plug in fiery clash
Trump issues omnious warning to Zohran Mamdani
Live Events
Zohran Mamdani hits back
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Days after US President Donald Trump called New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani 'a communist,' he has again stepped up his attack against the Democratic socialist. The commander-in-chief threatened to cut New York City off from federal funds if Zohran Mamdani "doesn't behave himself" should he be elected.Issuing a stern warning against Mamdani, the president called Mamdani a "lunatic" and said it was "inconceivable" that the democratic socialist could actually win the mayoral election. Trump also said that if he should succeed, the new mayor is "going to need to do the right thing, or they're not getting any money."Trump went on a fresh rant against Zohran Mamdani on Sunday on the heels of the 33-year-old's stunning win in the recently concluded Democratic mayoral primary. 'He's a communist. I think it's very bad for New York,' Trump told Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo. 'But let's say this: If he does get in, I'm going to be president, and he's going to have to do the right thing, or they're not getting any money.'In an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, Trump argued that a Mamdani victory was 'inconceivable' because he perceived the candidate to be 'a pure communist'.Trump has been on a rant against Mamdani after the latter pulled off a shocking upset against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the closely watched primary last week. The President railed against the fast-rising Democratic star in a Truth Social post after polls closed.'It's finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line,' he wrote. 'We've had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he's not very smart… Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country!'The president doubled down on those insults in his interview with Fox News, branding Mamdani a 'radical left lunatic' — his moniker of choice for many of his perceived political enemies.Asked who he would support for New York City mayor, Trump kept it vague.'I don't want to say that because I have a lot of people, a lot of friends,' he said. 'I don't want to get into that. I can tell you this: Whoever's mayor of New York is going to have to behave themselves, or the federal government is coming down very tough on them financially.'"I was very surprised," Trump said, adding that he had "never heard of" Mamdani before the primary, adding, "I don't know who he is."Speaking Sunday with NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Mamdani said, 'no, I am not' a communist. Mamdani pushed back in a separate interview, denying that he was a communist.He also said that he had 'already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I'm from, who I am – ultimately because he wants to distract from what I'm fighting for'.'I have already started to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I'm from, who I am—ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I'm fighting for,' he shot back.'When we talk about my politics, I call myself a democratic socialist, in many ways, inspired by the words of Dr. King from decades ago, who said: 'Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism. There has to be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country,'' Mamdani added.Mamdani, 33, has yet to secure endorsements from the biggest Democratic officials, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both coincidentally of New York. The New York City mayoral election will take place on November 4, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Who the Fork Are You?
Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the American political wunderkind with a Gujarati Shia Muslim father from Uganda, a Hindu mother from Indian Punjab, and a middle name from Ghana, is deeply divisive, like politicians are. I have zero qualms about dragging him for eating with his hands during an interview. Savage. cardinal rule of civilised dining is simple: don't yammer while you're stuffing your face with biryani. Talking with a mouthful is a culinary crime, and I would curry ninda anyone committing it, be it in Mumbai or in Manhattan. But some Americans, particularly the MAGA brigade, aren't clutching pearls over his chatter. No, they're apoplectic about his hands. Eating with fingers? Heathen! To them, cutlery is the hallmark of sophistication, and bare hands are for isn't just fuel, it's a sensory orgy. Thank the lord for blessing us with the food on the table and our body with the five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Traditional eating was a five-star experience for all five senses. You gazed at the dish, caressed its texture with your fingers, inhaled its aroma, savoured its flavour, and relished the crunch or melt. Forks, knives, and spoons? Those were born in grim, water-scarce lands where icy streams and filthy paws made hand-eating a hygiene horror. But in cultures where hand-washing was a sacred prelude to anything worthwhile, fingers were the ultimate utensil. Enter colonialism: the fork-wielding masters branded their ways 'civilised' and the hand-eating colonised 'savage.' The cutlery supremacy was Mamdani was busy committing the sin of talking through his meal, he waxed poetic about his 'Third World sensibilities.' Oh, please. The Third World doesn't endorse mid-bite monologues. We offer our food to the cosmos, whisper a verse for universal nourishment, and then dig in with reverence. Chatting over dinner is a Western quirk, born of their obsession with 'table talk.' We didn't even have tables until the Brits showed up, and we only use cutlery for foods that demand them. Like a spoon for soup or forks for spaghetti. Never for says his worldview is inspired by the 3rd world while eating rice with his hands End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 29, 2025advertisementKnives, those primal tools of hunter-gatherers, were Europe's early claim to culinary fame. But while Asia was living its spice-infused golden age, Europe was slumming it with bread and stew. Spoons slurped the broth, knives hacked the loaf. Basic, boring, beige. Meanwhile, in lands of abundance, rice ruled. Spices danced, cuisines dazzled, and clean hands were all you needed. Why trust a fork that's been in who-knows-whose gob when your own washed hand is a known quantity? As the saying goes: you can't pick your fork's past, but you can scrub your medieval Europe was a hands-on affair. Knives sliced, fingers or bread scooped. Spoons were the soup sakhas, forks a later cameo. But as dining became a flex of class, forks crept in, promising cleaner, posher meals, untangled from the plebeian paw. By the 19th century, the four-tined fork and blunt table knife were Western dining's dynamic duo, with fish forks and butter knives arriving with a 'look at us, we're fancy!' Colonisation and trade spread this cutlery cult worldwide, but many cultures stuck to their guns, or rather, their hands. West of India, hands. East of India, chopsticks. India had the eating hand, thoroughly washed, before and India has an eating hand. Because, we have a washing hand, equally pristine. Thoroughly washed, before and after. Americans, still strangers to the bidet, might want to sit this hygiene lecture out. The nation that loves 'cutting red tape' still clings to paperwork to finish the job, calling desis unwashed while their own behinds stay, ahem, unfinished. I don't shake hands with suspected paper-users. hand-eating isn't just practical, it's a vibe. Touching food gauges its temperature, sparing you the 'ooh, aah, ouch' of a fork-shovelled scald. It's intimate, intentional, a middle finger to the fork fetishists. So, Zohran, keep eating with your hands. Just shut up while you're at it.(Kamlesh Singh, a columnist and satirist, is director of news with India Today Digital)- Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Must Watch
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Brutal tool of economic injustice, corporate cronyism': Rahul slams GST, calls for reform
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel With the Goods and Services Tax (GST) completing eight years, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that it is a "brutal tool of corporate cronyism" and asserted that a reformed GST must be "people-first, business-friendly, and truly federal in spirit".The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said India deserves a tax system that works for all, not just the privileged few, so that every Indian, from the small shopkeeper to the farmer, can be a stakeholder in the nation's progress."Eight years on, the Modi government 's GST is not a tax reform - it's a brutal tool of economic injustice and corporate cronyism. It was designed to punish the poor, crush MSMEs, undermine states, and benefit a few billionaire friends of the prime minister," he said in a post on X."A 'Good and Simple Tax' was promised. Instead, India got a compliance nightmare and a five-slab tax regime that has been amended over 900 times. Even caramel popcorn and cream buns are caught in its web of confusion," Gandhi bureaucratic maze favours big corporates who can navigate its loopholes with armies of accountants, while small shopkeepers, MSMEs, and ordinary traders drown in red tape, he claimed and added that the GST portal remains a source of daily harassment."MSMEs - India's largest job creators have suffered the most. Over 18 lakh enterprises have shut down since the rollout of GST eight years ago. Citizens now pay GST on everything from tea to health insurance, while corporates enjoy over ₹1 lakh crore in tax breaks annually," Gandhi said. Petrol and diesel have been deliberately kept outside the GST framework, hurting farmers, transporters, and ordinary people, he said."GST dues are also weaponised to punish non-BJP ruled states - clear proof of the Modi government's anti-federal agenda," Gandhi said the GST was a visionary idea by the UPA, meant to unify India's markets and simplify taxation."But its promise has been betrayed by poor implementation, political bias, and bureaucratic overreach. A reformed GST must be people-first, business-friendly, and truly federal in spirit," Gandhi said.
Deccan Herald
an hour ago
- Deccan Herald
Let AI explain why Tesla's critics are losing
By Matthew A WinklerAlmost everything said about Tesla Inc. these days ranges from bad to majority of 61 analysts following the electric vehicle and clean energy company led by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk say investors should avoid buying the stock. Plummeting sales at home and abroad underscore Bloomberg Intelligence research showing 31 per cent of car buyers -- including 41 per cent of women who identify as Democrats – are less likely to purchase a Tesla after Musk, the unelected leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, became a pariah inside and outside the White House. President Donald Trump accused his biggest campaign donor of being a 'big-time drug addict.' Even Musk's artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, Grok, said Tesla is in a 'precarious position' with a 15 per cent to 25 per cent risk of a 'death spiral.'The media take on Tesla omits the unimpaired outlook that data compiled by Bloomberg show: The EV startup founded by engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003, still is the world's largest automaker, ninth-largest public company and worth more than the gross domestic product of Saudi Arabia. For all its might as the global sales leader, Toyota Motor Corp. is about a quarter of Tesla's $1.04 trillion market capitalization. The top 10 automakers, excluding Tesla, amount to $812 billion, or 78 per cent of Tesla's all the discussion about Tesla's lost cachet and 'demand problem,' the Model Y remains the best-selling EV model globally in 2025, which would be the third consecutive year if the trend holds, and shows no signs of losing its sales-leading position over legacy automakers in China, Europe and the US. Shareholders need only look at financial history to be unmoved by the doom mongering. Tesla's $97.7 billion of revenue last year is more than 30 times its sales a decade ago, outperforming the second-fastest growing company, China's BYD Co., whose most recent annual sales are 12 times its 2014 revenue..'Porky pig party': Elon Musk renews criticism of Trump's spending earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), totaled $14 billion, more than 300 times the company's profit a decade ago. No. 2 BYD, grew 15 times based on its EBITDA, which measures core business profitability since this item excludes the impact to earnings from financing and tax decisions. Tesla's current market capitalization is 31 times bigger than a decade ago, which is another way of saying none of the top 10 automakers are competitive with Tesla's revenue growth, profit and market value, according to data compiled by Tesla on April 22 announced its biggest earnings disappointment in five years -- 27 cents a share in the first quarter, or 38 per cent lower than the 43-cents-a-share average estimate -- the stock rose 5.37 per cent the next day after Musk told shareholders the financial impact of autonomous driving will become material in the second half of 2025. The Tesla-designed computer chip for autonomous driving uses AI rather than expensive sensors and high-precision maps, and Tesla anticipates significant market share, potentially 99 per cent, or at least 90 per cent in the autonomous car market, according to data compiled by when the question 'Why is Tesla's market value four times Toyota's?' was addressed to the Bloomberg Terminal's Document Search and Analysis tool, the AI-driven function accessing news, research and analysis with full attribution and transparency, provided the following perspective:.Trumps suggests DOGE look at Musk subsidies to save AI and Autonomous Technology VisionAccording to Tesla's Q1 2025 earnings call on April 22, the company is positioning itself primarily as (an) AI and robotics company that will generate value through autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots, not just as a traditional to news, Tesla's AI and autonomous driving technology alone is valued at $1 trillion, according to Wedbush analyst Dan to Tesla's Q1 2025 earnings call on April 22, the company expects to achieve full autonomous driving capabilities at scale by mid-2025, which would transform their business and Future Growth ExpectationsAccording to news, Tesla's $1 trillion market capitalization is heavily influenced by Elon Musk's leadership and to Tesla's Q1 earnings call on April 22, management believes Tesla could become worth more than the next five largest companies combined with successful to news, analyst Gary Black argues that traditional automotive P/E ratios shouldn't be applied to Tesla due to different growth Integration and Manufacturing AdvantagesAccording to Tesla's Q1 earnings call on April 22, the company has significant vertical integration advantages, including battery production, lithium refining and manufacturing to Tesla's Q1 earnings call on April 22, the company is leading in humanoid robotics development and expects rapid scaling of this ChallengesAccording to news, Tesla faces multiple challenges including sales slump, profit declines, brand backlash and stock to news, there is significant debate among finance experts about whether Tesla's valuation is justified or disconnected from much as Tesla depends on 125,665 employees in the US, Europe and Asia, it has been sustained by the original foresight of its founders, Eberhard and Tarpenning and subsequently Musk, who provided the investment that enabled Tesla to disrupt and transform the auto industry.'People in general, and equity investors in particular, want to see absolute commitment and belief in a vision of a better future,' Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, who covered the auto industry since the 1980s, wrote in a note to clients last week. 'They also want to be part of a winner's story, especially if there is an element of redemption in that narrative. That is something no algo or spreadsheet can understand, which is why hero-led companies are often so valuable.'
