President Donald Trump took aim at New York City then mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani during a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday, November 2, 2025, making an unexpected personal attack while weighing in on his hometown’s upcoming election. When asked about comparisons between himself and the 34-year-old democratic socialist, Trump dismissed the notion with a quip about his appearance before escalating his criticism of the Democratic nominee.
CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell posed the question to Trump during the wide-ranging interview filmed at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Friday, October 31, 2025. She noted that some observers had drawn parallels between Trump and Mamdani, describing both as charismatic leaders who break old rules.
“Well, I think I’m a much better looking person than him, right?” Trump responded. The president, a Queens native, didn’t stop at the personal jab. He interrupted O’Donnell as she described Mamdani as a democratic socialist, insisting the state assemblyman was actually a communist.
Trump asserted, incorrectly, that Mamdani represented something far more extreme than democratic socialism. The president stated that Mamdani was not a socialist but a communist, someone far worse than a socialist. While communism and democratic socialism share some features, communist societies are not democratic and are most readily associated with one-party dictatorships like those in the Soviet Union and present-day China. Democratic socialist countries like Norway, Sweden, and Denmark maintain democratic systems with high taxes funding broad public services.
The president also revealed his preference in the mayoral race, saying he would pick former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over Mamdani. Trump indicated he was not a fan of Cuomo either way, but if the choice came down to a bad Democrat and a communist, he would choose the bad Democrat every time. Cuomo ran as an independent candidate after losing to Mamdani in a stunning upset during the June primary.
Zohran Mamdani was elected to be the first Muslim mayor of New York City on November 4, 2025. He is also one of its youngest mayors in over a century.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo’s campaign, characterized Trump’s comments as stream of consciousness and clarified the president did not endorse Cuomo. The former governor previously told NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW” in early October that he would not accept an endorsement from Trump.
Mamdani quickly seized on the interview, posting on X a congratulatory message to Cuomo with pointed sarcasm, acknowledging how hard Cuomo had worked for what he characterized as Trump’s support.
Beyond personal attacks, Trump threatened financial consequences if Mamdani won the November 4 general election. The president suggested it would be difficult for him to allocate substantial federal funding to New York City under a Mamdani administration, arguing that a communist running the city would simply waste the money. Any cuts to funding would significantly impact the nation’s largest city, where federal grants support essential services including public hospitals, the transit system, public safety, and education.
The Trump administration has already demonstrated a willingness to withhold funds from New York. Last month, White House budget director Russell Vought paused approximately $18 billion in funding for major infrastructure projects, including the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Avenue Subway, citing concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.
Mamdani responded to Trump’s funding threats by emphasizing the city’s legal entitlement to federal money. He indicated his administration would not hesitate to use both public pressure and the courts to ensure New York receives every dollar owed, pointing to similar actions taken by cities and states across the country when facing federal funding disputes.
The Queens assemblyman centered his campaign on addressing affordability in New York City through proposals including universal child care, free bus service, and a rent freeze for stabilized apartments. These initiatives would require the state to raise taxes on the city’s wealthiest residents.
Trump also compared Mamdani unfavorably to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, suggesting Mamdani would perform worse than de Blasio, whom Trump witnessed as a particularly ineffective mayor.
Polls showed Mamdani maintaining a lead ahead of Tuesday’s election, though the race tightened in recent weeks. New York City skews heavily Democratic, and Trump remains unpopular in New York, according to polling data. The mayor’s race gained additional attention after Mayor Eric Adams faced accusations of cozying up to Trump in hopes of having federal corruption charges dropped. When the Justice Department eventually dismissed the case, Adams denied any quid pro quo, but his political standing suffered. Adams subsequently dropped out of the race and endorsed Cuomo.
The interview marked Trump’s first appearance on “60 Minutes” since October 2020, when he walked out during a pre-election interview, claiming host Lesley Stahl was biased. The network recently settled a lawsuit with Trump for $16 million related to the editing of a Kamala Harris interview, though the company maintained it would not apologize for its editorial practices. CBS owner Paramount was simultaneously seeking federal approval for a merger with Skydance, owned by Trump ally David Ellison (son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison), which has since been approved.
