Rudy Giuliani advises Zohran Mamdani to ‘step down and do something else’ after NYC mayoral win

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani had harsh words for mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Monday, November 10.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, made history by defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral race, becoming the first Muslim and the first person of South Asian descent to lead the city.

Rudy Giuliani reveals what worries him about Zohran Mamdani as next mayor

According to the New York Post, Rudy Giuliani urged mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani not to take office as New York City’s next leader. “My advice to him is to step down and do something else,” Giuliani said. He labeled Mamdani a “communist right out of Karl Marx” and criticized him as unfit for the job.

Giuliani also accused Mamdani of supporting “Muslim extremism” on seeing a photograph of him and Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a controversial cleric who once reportedly called for a gun-free “jihad” in the city.

The former two-term mayor said, “The imam he was with is a strong supporter of terrorism. I’m not worried that he’s a Muslim. I’m worried that he supports Muslim extremism.” 

Giuliani, who came to be known as “America’s Mayor” for leading New York City during and after the September 11, 2001, attacks, later served as an attorney for Donald Trump, who recently pardoned him for his alleged role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won. 

Rudy Giuliani says Zohran Mamdani is a 'serious security threat to US'

Rudy Giuliani also questioned whether Zohran Mamdani could ever receive a federal security clearance while speaking to reporters. “Zohran Mamdani is a serious security threat to the United States of America. He’s a communist and a sympathizer for Muslim terrorism,” he said.

He also condemned Mamdani’s criticism of Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the mayor-elect's stance “antisemitic.”

“Israel seems like an obsession for him,” Giuliani said, pointing to Mamdani’s support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which he claimed seeks to destroy Israel. “The BDS movement wants to wipe out the State of Israel. Mamdani is one of the best-known antisemites in the country,” Giuliani added.

Giuliani ended his remarks by advising the mayor-elect to “love America.” Mamdani has not yet responded to the former mayor's comments.

Trump warns Zohran Mamdani after his 'angry' victory speech

Zohran Mamdani faced criticism from President Donald Trump after his controversial victory speech. In an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier, the Republican leader shared his thoughts on Mamdani’s win in the 2025 New York City mayoral race. While Trump said he wants the city to succeed, he questioned whether the democratic socialist’s ideas would work.

“I thought it was a very angry speech — certainly angry toward me, and I think he should be nice to me. He’s off to a bad start,” Trump said.

When Baier asked about the part of Mamdani’s speech where he told Trump to “turn up the volume” and said, “Hear me: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us,” the POTUS responded, “It was a very dangerous statement for him to make, actually. You talk about danger — I think it’s a very dangerous statement for him to make."

Trump warned, "He has to be a little bit respectful of Washington because if he’s not, he doesn’t have a chance of succeeding."