Born in Uganda to Indian parents and naturalized in 2018, he’s championing bold, Sanders-style policies: a $30 minimum wage, free public buses, universal preschool, and steep taxes on the ultra-wealthy to fund it all. His rapid rise has unsettled both the party’s centrist wing and Trump’s camp.

On Truth Social, Trump blasted Mamdani as “a 100% Communist Lunatic,” then told Fox News that if Mamdani takes office, he’ll cut off federal funding unless the new mayor “does the right thing.” At a later event in Ochopee, Florida—where he toured the “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention center—Trump threatened, “If he stands in the way, we might have to arrest him,” and hinted at probing Mamdani’s citizenship despite his naturalization seven years ago