US President Donald Trump has lashed out at New York City’s newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, referring to him as “whatever the hell his name is” and labelling him a “communist”, even as the Indian-origin mayor-elect fired back in his victory speech, declaring that the city “will remain a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant.”

Speaking at the America Business Forum Miami in Florida on Wednesday, a day after Mamdani was elected as New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, Trump said Americans now faced a stark choice between “communism and common sense.”

“When I was elected to my second term on November 5 last year, the American people had restored their sovereignty, but we lost a little bit of it with the mayoral election on Tuesday,” Trump said.

“But we will take care of it. Don't worry about it,” he added.

“You watch what happens in New York, terrible… I hope it doesn't happen, but you're going to see it.”

“…and Mandami, whatever the hell his name is in New York… thinks it’s wonderful to have men playing in women’s sports,” Trump said, drawing boos and jeers from the audience.

He accused Democrats of “installing a communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation.”

“If you want to see what Congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the result of yesterday’s election in New York, where their party installed a communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation,” Trump said.

“The decision facing all Americans could not be more clear. We have a choice between communism and common sense. Does that make sense to you? Common sense? It’s common sense or communism,” he said, adding that communism “hasn’t worked in the past.”

“Our opponents are offering an economic nightmare. We're delivering an economic miracle,” Trump said. “While I used to warn against electing socialists, we skipped socialist and put in a communist instead.”

Warning that Democrats were “so extreme”, Trump said, “Miami could soon become a refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City.” Despite his sharp attacks, he expressed affection for his home city, saying, “I love New York… we had the telltale signs of trouble because we had a guy named de Blasio.”

He reiterated that under his leadership, “the US is not going communist in any way, shape or form.” “We’ll stop it. We're going to stop it. Stop this nonsense,” he said, adding, “Between a communist or a thug, the people took the communist. It’s pretty amazing. We could have done a little better in terms of candidates.”

“But the communists, Marxists, socialists and globalists had their chance, and they delivered nothing but disaster. And now let's see how a communist does in New York. We're going to see how that works out,” he said, before adding that he “will help them. We want New York to be successful. We'll help them a little bit, maybe.”

Later, speaking to Fox News, Trump slightly softened his stance, saying he wanted Mamdani “to do well” because he “loved New York.”

“You know, I'm so torn because I would like to see the new mayor do well because I love New York. When I left New York for Washington, New York was doing really well. But there were some bad signs. The bad sign was a guy named Bill de Blasio. This one we're going to look for a thousand years. Communism has not worked,” he said.

Commenting on Mamdani’s victory speech, Trump said it was “a very angry speech” and warned that the mayor-elect should maintain a good relationship with Washington.

“I thought it was a very angry speech, certainly angry toward me, and I think he should be very nice to me as I am the one that sort of has to approve a lot of things coming to him, so he’s off to a bad start,” Trump said.

During his victory speech in Brooklyn, Mamdani, a vocal critic of Trump, had declared, “After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.”

Directly addressing the president, Mamdani said, “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up.” He added, “To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”

In a record turnout that saw over two million votes cast, Mamdani defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — who ran as an independent backed by Trump and Elon Musk — and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, giving Democrats momentum ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.