Zohran Mamdani, the Indian-origin candidate running for mayor of New York City, has responded sharply to US President Donald Trump’s deportation threats. Mamdani accused Trump of fueling division and resorting to personal attacks to distract from his administration’s failures in addressing the needs of working-class Americans.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old Indian-origin politician and Democrat, posted a video on social media rejecting Trump’s threats and vowing to continue his campaign undeterred.
“It is less so because of who I am, because of where I come from, because of how I look or how I speak, and more so because he wants to distract from what I fight for. I fight for working people,” Mamdani said in the video.
Since Mamdani’s rise in the New York mayoral race, Trump has repeatedly targeted him with personal insults, calling him a “communist” and a “lunatic,” while also making false claims about his immigration status.
During a July 1 visit to a Florida detention center, Trump responded to Mamdani’s vow not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement by saying, “Well then, we’ll have to arrest him.” He added, “We’ll be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.”
Mamdani has characterized the attacks as part of a broader Republican effort to silence dissent and shift focus away from issues that affect everyday Americans. He specifically criticized Trump’s proposed tax and spending legislation, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which is heading for a key vote in Congress.
“He wants to focus on me so that we don’t focus on a bill that would strip healthcare from families and take food away from the hungry,” Mamdani said. “We will not back down. We will fight back.”
The candidate also accused Trump of deepening political and social divisions. “He is choosing to divide rather than admit how he has let down working-class Americans, not only in New York City but across the country.”
Despite Trump’s rhetoric, Mamdani remains committed to protecting immigrant communities and defending policies that aim to uplift working people. His message: he will not be intimidated.
