Trump slams Zohran Mamdani’s ‘dangerous’ victory speech, urges him to ‘be a little bit respectful’

WASHINGTON, DC: US President Donald Trump, appearing less than thrilled with Zohran Mamdani’s victory speech, criticized New York City’s new mayor on Wednesday during an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier on 'Special Report.'

Trump shared his thoughts on Mamdani’s win in the 2025 mayoral election. While he said he wanted New York City to succeed, he doubted whether the democratic socialist’s ideas would work.

Donald Trump says Zohran Mamdani is off to a ‘bad start’

Trump called Mamdani’s speech “very angry,” saying it was directed at him and that Mamdani “should be nice” to him. “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 whether Trump heard the part where Mamdani told him to “turn up the volume” and declared, “Hear me: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us,” Trump called the remark “very dangerous.” 

“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 said, warning, “He has to be a little bit respectful of Washington because if he’s not, he doesn’t have a chance of succeeding.”

Trump said he wanted “to make him succeed,” then corrected himself, saying his goal was to help New York City succeed. When asked if he planned to reach out to Mamdani after the election, Trump paused before replying that Mamdani “needs to reach out to us.”

Trump and Zohran Mamdani’s exchanges after NYC mayoral victory speech

This was not the first time Trump addressed Mamdani’s remarks. Just hours after the victory speech, Trump posted four words on Truth Social: “And so it begins.” Earlier on Wednesday, November 5, the president broke his silence on Mamdani’s win while speaking to business leaders at the American Business Forum in Miami.

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

He continued, “Remember, I used to say we’d never have a socialist elected to any post in our country. We skipped socialists—we put in the communists instead.”

Trump’s remarks came after Mamdani directly challenged him during his victory speech. Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in a historic and closely watched race.

Addressing a crowd of cheering supporters, Mamdani declared that New York City’s result showed how to “defeat Donald Trump” and vowed that the city would serve as “the light in this moment of political darkness.” 

Speaking directly to Trump, Mamdani said, “To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.” He added, “So Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up!”