Washington Examiner Senior Writer Joe Concha suggested that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani promised to call President Donald Trump to assure federal funding.
“What motivates Mamdani more than anything? Free money from the government,” Concha said on Fox Business’s Kudlow on Wednesday. “So when Trump threatened, ‘if this guy wins I’m going to withhold as much as I can,’ Mamdani then becomes this lizard person shape shifter, and now suddenly he’s going to be nice to Trump because that’s who the handout is coming from. He realizes that’s a war he’s not going to win.”
Concha was referring to Trump’s Fox News interview from June, where Trump threatened to withhold federal funding for New York City after Mamdani won the Democratic primary earlier this summer.
“If he does get in, I’m gonna be president, then he’s going to have to do the right thing, but they’re not getting any money. He’s got to do the right thing,” Trump said.
After Mamdani won the mayor’s office earlier this month, Trump said it would be more “appropriate” if Mamdani reached out first.
While Mamdani spent most of his campaign and even his victory speech challenging Trump, he changed his tune this week.
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“I will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city,” Mamdani said in an interview with NBC New York before he is sworn in on Jan. 1, 2026.
Mamdani won just over 50% of the vote in New York City, while his predecessor, Eric Adams, won 67% of the vote in 2021. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won the city with 70% of the vote during last year’s election.
