Democratic New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani stood by his past characterizations of President Donald Trump as a “fascist” and “threat to democracy” during a “Meet the Press” interview recorded Saturday.
Mandani defeated former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa on Nov. 4, ending the race to replace outgoing Independent Mayor Eric Adams. “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker asked Mamdani about his past verbal attacks on Trump following Friday’s surprisingly congenial meeting between the two New Yorkers in the White House.
“In that press conference with President Trump, a reporter asked you whether you believe that President Trump is, in fact, a fascist, a word that you’ve used in the past. You were about to answer, and President Trump sort of jumped in and said, ‘That’s okay. You can just say yes, it’s easier than explaining it,” Welker asked. “Mr. Mayor-elect, just to be very clear, do you think that President Trump is a fascist?”
“And after President Trump said that, I said yes,” Mamdani replied.
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“So you do?” Welker pressed.
“That’s something I’ve said in the past,” he responded. “I said it today, and what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement and the politics that have brought us to the moment.”
“You’ve also said in the past that President Trump has engaged in ‘an attack on our democracy’ and called him a despot. Do you still think that President Trump is a threat to democracy?” Welker asked.
“Everything I said in the past I continue to believe, and that’s the thing that’s important about politics,” Mamdani replied.
Some conservatives say negatively charged rhetoric about Trump has contributed to a rise in political violence. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and his family were forced to move from their home in Arlington, Virginia after a campaign of harassment that included writing messages such as, “Stephen Miller is destroying democracy,” “no white nationalism,” and “trans rights are human rights” on public sidewalks near his residence, along with posting flyers listing his home address.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot Sept. 10 while taking part in a “Prove Me Wrong” event at Utah Valley University. Trump survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign, including a similar attack during a July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a Sept. 15, 2024, attempt to ambush him at a golf course.
Then-Vice President Kamala Harris also escalated attacks on Trump in the closing weeks of the 2024 presidential campaign, devoting a major speech to attacking the then-former president as a threat to democracy and portraying him as “unstable” days after calling him a “fascist” during an Oct. 23, 2024, CNN town hall.
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