Latest news with #TrumpAttacks
Forbes
a day ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Here Are All Of Trump's Threats Against Zohran Mamdani
President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, calling the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor a 'communist' and again implying he would be willing to withhold federal funds from the city, the same day he officially won the Democratic Party's primary election. President Donald Trump escalated his threats against Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New ... More York City mayor. Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images Trump began his attacks on Mamdani immediately after election day last week, calling him 'a 100% Communist Lunatic' on his Truth Social platform and insulting his intelligence and 'grating' speaking voice (Mamdani is not a self-described communist, but is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, one of the largest left-wing political organizations in the U.S.). Speaking to Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City, warning that '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.' Trump escalated the threat Tuesday at a press conference in Florida, telling a reporter 'we'll have to arrest him' when asked about Mamdani's election night call to remove Immigrations and Customs Enforcement from New York City neighborhoods. At least one congressional Republican called for the Justice Department to investigate if Mamdani misrepresented himself during his naturalization process in 2018, and Trump seemingly acknowledged these claims Tuesday, telling reporters 'we're going to look at everything.' Mamdani, a 33-year-old first term assemblyman representing parts of Queens, shocked the Democratic Party establishment last week after he emerged as the clear winner in the primary. Mamdani officially won the primary Tuesday, after the final vote count factoring in ranked choice votes. Mamdani took home 56% of the final vote, finishing 12 points ahead of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—the favorite in most polls leading up to election day. What Has Mamdani Said About Ice? At a victory rally on election day, Mamdani pledged to serve as a mayor who 'will use their power to reject Donald Trump's fascism, to stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors.' Mamdani's campaign also published a six-page policy overview on his plan to 'Trump-proof' New York City, including preventing ICE from operating in city-owned facilities like Rikers Island and investing millions in funds for legal defense services for immigrants. Mayor Eric Adams has largely cooperated with ICE during the second Trump administration, but a plan to allow agents into Rikers was indefinitely put on hold in June as it faces a legal challenge. The Trump administration has mounted an offensive against sanctuary cities, and filed a lawsuit Monday against Los Angeles over sanctuary city policies. The Justice Department has already sued New York state over sanctuary policies, including blocking ICE agents from making arrests at state courthouses. $7.4 billion. That's how much federal funding is included in New York City's operating budget for 2026, or 6.4% of the city's total spending, according to a report published by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office in April. These funds include grant money from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund city services like public housing, hospitals and the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It is unclear how much of these funds the Trump administration could immediately freeze, or if this effort would get challenged in court. Who Is Calling For Mamdani's Denaturalization? Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., led the Republicans vocally calling for Mamdani's deportation, sharing a letter he sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi calling for an investigation into whether he lied during his naturalization process. Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, has been a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2018. The Justice Department issued a memo in June prioritizing denaturalization proceedings for individuals convicted of certain crimes or those who ''illegally procured' naturalization or procured naturalization by 'concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.'' Ogles has a history of introducing controversial proposals, including an attempt to amend the 22nd Amendment to carve out an exception for Trump to run for a third term in office—a resolution he proposed just three days after Trump's second inauguration. When asked about Ogles' letter last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had not called for Mamdani to be deported just yet. 'I haven't heard him say that, I haven't heard him call for that,' Leavitt said. 'But certainly, he does not want this individual to be elected. Leavitt did not rule out an investigation, telling Fox News' Peter Doocy, 'I have not seen those claims, but surely if they are true, it's something that should be investigated.' Trump repeated this sentiment Tuesday. 'A lot of people are saying 'he's here illegally…' we're going to look at everything,' he said. '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.' How Has Mamdani Responded? In a statement posted on social media, Mamdani denounced Trump's arrest threats, which he called 'intimidation.' Mamdani previously refuted the assertion he was a communist in an interview on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday, telling host Kristen Welker, 'no, I am not. And I have 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.' In the same interview, Mamdani renewed his calls to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers. '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's campaign has not returned a request for comment from Forbes.
Wall Street Journal
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's Loudest Conservative Critic Thomas Massie Wants ‘Cease-Fire'
WASHINGTON—Rep. Thomas Massie says he has the 'antibodies' after surviving President Trump's previous attempt to oust him during his first administration. The Kentucky Republican's immunity theory is now being put to its biggest test as Trump steps up his attacks and groups aligned with the president gear up to eject Massie in his 2026 GOP primary. Massie has a loyal base of voters in his Kentucky district stretching east of Louisville and a pack of #sassywithmassie followers online who like his libertarian politics, but he appreciates Trump's power. The lawmaker, who criticized Trump's strikes on Iran and has refused to back Trump's tax-and-spending bill over deficit concerns, said the president is attacking him as an example to other Republicans—showing what will happen if they don't bend to his demands.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Chris Hayes Says the Silver Lining in Trump's Attacks on American Institutions Is That They Have ‘No Choice but to Fight Back'
Chris Hayes opened Tuesday's episode of his MSNBC show with a bleak look Donald Trump's latest attacks on 'our American birthright of a free and open society,' including against independent universities, real science and the free press. But despite grim recent events, Hayes argued that there is a 'real silver lining' — that these institutions are being forced to fight him. Hayes began by talking about Trump's escalating war on Harvard university, which as Hayes explained, is a campaign to 'put Harvard University, nation's oldest college, out of business.' This most recently includes Trump's order to cancel all federal contracts with the university, an unprecedented move that was preceded by the equally unprecedented order to cease all foreign student admissions. 'They want to rewrite the school's curriculum in a way that is favorable and deferential to Trump and his worldview. Donald Trump wants the most powerful, legendary institution higher education in this country, arguably in the world, to bend the knee to his whims and become a kind of controlled asset of MAGA. That is the goal here,' Hayes said. Hayes noted Trump's attacks on other universities, his administration's increasingly clear opposition to vaccinations, and his attacks on media — which included a shout-out to the fiery speech '60 Minutes' reporter Scott Pelley gave last week to graduating seniors at Wake Forest University. 'Pelly, to his great credit, is not cowed, and it's true that many aren't. Not every outlet is capitulated to Trump,' Hayes said, adding a little later, 'and we're seeing this type of resistance everywhere, sometimes in sort of unexpected areas. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, I think he's a pretty conservative guy, as far as I can know. He's a guy who was initially elevated to the job of Federal Reserve Chair by a guy named Donald Trump in his first term, is fighting the President's pressure campaign to remove him from his position, calling on the next generation to preserve our democratic institutions again in another weekend commencement speech at Princeton University.' 'Here's the single most important thing for everyone to understand about this ongoing, existential battle to preserve our American birthright of a free and open society,' Hayes continued. 'All these institutions and the people that power them, and the vast sources of independent knowledge, production and authority contained within them, that form what is the kind of civil society of America altogether are more powerful than this one petty, addled man, and Donald Trump knows it, and that's why he wants to end them.' 'And the real silver lining here, and there is one, is that Trump's attacks are so reckless and so baseless and transparent, they have left our independent institutions with no choice but to fight back. Good. We need them.' Watch the whole commentary below: The post Chris Hayes Says the Silver Lining in Trump's Attacks on American Institutions Is That They Have 'No Choice but to Fight Back' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Trump calls for investigation into Harris over celebrity endorsements
Donald Trump kicked off Monday morning by turning his attacks towards former 2024 rival Kamala Harris just hours after Joe Biden's devastating cancer diagnosis was made public. The president is demanding a 'major investigation' into Harris after she dolled out massive amounts of campaign cash for major celebrity appearances from the likes of single-name icons Beyonce and Oprah. Trump claims that Harris' lofty spending for performances at her events equates to using donations to pay for endorsements, which is illegal. Still, the slew of celebrity appearances and mini concerts, including from Bruce Springsteen and Bono, did not help Harris get any closer to getting promoted to the Oval Office. The post on Monday came after just hours former President Biden's office announced that he was diagnosed with an 'aggressive form' of prostate cancer. Trump posted on Sunday to his Truth Social well wishes for Biden's recovery. 'Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis,' the president wrote. 'We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.' But the next morning Trump was back to his usual social media antics and turned his attacks to Biden's former No. 2. 'How much did Kamala Harris pay Bruce Springsteen for his poor performance during her campaign for president?' he questioned in his Truth Social post. 'Why did he accept that money if he is such a fan of hers? Isn't that a major and illegal campaign contribution?' 'What about Beyonce?' the president continued. 'And how much went to Oprah, and Bono??' He insisted: 'I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren't allowed to pay for endorsements, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment.' Trump often had celebrities who supported him appear or perform at his campaign rallies. This included Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Billy Ray Cyrus and God Bless the USA singer Lee Greenwood. He even had the Village People perform their hit song Y.M.C.A. at his inaugural rally. His post, however, suggests that Trump did not pay for these performances – at least not from his campaign funds. Trump said on Truth Social that Harris was desperate to get these 'expensive' and 'unpatriotic' performers to come to her events to 'artificially build up her sparse crowds.' 'This was just a corrupt and unlawful way to capitalize on a broken system,' Trump concluded.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Trump turns ire on Kamala Harris after Biden cancer news with Beyoncé, Oprah warning for 'illegal' donations
Donald Trump kicked off Monday morning by turning his attacks towards former 2024 rival Kamala Harris just hours after Joe Biden 's devastating cancer diagnosis was made public. The president is demanding a 'major investigation' into Harris after she dolled out massive amounts of campaign cash for major celebrity appearances from the likes of single-name icons Beyonce and Oprah. Trump claims that Harris' lofty spending for performances at her events equates to using donations to pay for endorsements, which is illegal. Still, the slew of celebrity appearances and mini concerts, including from Bruce Springsteen and Bono, did not help Harris get any closer to getting promoted to the Oval Office. The post on Monday came after just hours former President Biden's office announced that he was diagnosed with an 'aggressive form' of prostate cancer. He claimed that his 2024 rival illegally paid celebrities to endorse her and pointed to the performances and appearances at her event by big names like Beyonce, Oprah, Bruce Springsteen and Bono Trump posted on Sunday to his Truth Social well wishes for Biden's recovery. 'Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis,' the president wrote. 'We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.' But the next morning Trump was back to his usual social media antics and turned his attacks to Biden's former No. 2. 'How much did Kamala Harris pay Bruce Springsteen for his poor performance during her campaign for president?' he questioned in his Truth Social post. 'Why did he accept that money if he is such a fan of hers? Isn't that a major and illegal campaign contribution?' 'What about Beyonce?' the president continued. 'And how much went to Oprah, and Bono??' He insisted: 'I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren't allowed to pay for endorsements, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment.' Trump often had celebrities who supported him appear or perform at his campaign rallies. This included Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Billy Ray Cyrus and God Bless the USA singer Lee Greenwood. He even had the Village People perform their hit song Y.M.C.A. at his inaugural rally. His post, however, suggests that Trump did not pay for these performances – at least not from his campaign funds. Trump said on Truth Social that Harris was desperate to get these 'expensive' and 'unpatriotic' performers to come to her events to 'artificially build up her sparse crowds.' 'This was just a corrupt and unlawful way to capitalize on a broken system,' Trump concluded.
