Trump Threatens Deportation of NYC Mayoral Nominee, Drawing Cautious Democratic Response

Democrats who have not endorsed Zohran Mamdani offered cautious defenses as former President Donald Trump threatened to deport the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. Trump made the threat during a press conference in Florida, after visiting a detention center for migrants. He stated, "Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over them very carefully on behalf of the nation."

Mamdani became the target after winning the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. He defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo, who had the support of much of the state’s Democratic establishment.

Representative Adriano Espaillat, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, endorsed Cuomo but defended Mamdani from the attack. Espaillat stated that deporting Mamdani would be unconstitutional. Espaillat is familiar with Republican anti-immigrant sentiment, having been targeted himself.

Mamdani was born in Uganda and became a U.S. citizen in 2018. Despite this, Republican Representative Andy Ogles called for his deportation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has not endorsed Mamdani, called Trump's comments "disgusting." Representative James Clyburn, who endorsed Cuomo, simply laughed when asked about Trump's remarks.

Many Democrats have reservations about Mamdani. Some supporters of Israel criticized him for not denouncing the phrase “Globalize the Intifada.” Mamdani stated the phrase has different meanings for different groups. Representative Dan Goldman of New York, a major supporter of Israel, criticized Trump's remarks.

Few lawmakers have endorsed Mamdani. One of the few who did, Representative Jerry Nadler, defended him, stating that there are no grounds to deport him and that the former president is "out of his mind.