Trump tells ’60 Minutes’ it would be ‘hard’ to send money to New York City if Mamdani won
President Donald Trump shared his thoughts on the New York City mayoral race in a special interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday.
CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell spoke with Trump about several high-profile topics, including the ongoing government shutdown, immigration raids and international tariffs. O’Donnell also asked about the upcoming election, which will be held on Tuesday.
“Zohran Mamdani, 34-year-old Democratic Socialist. He’s the frontrunner—” O’Donnell began.
“Communist, not socialist,” Trump interrupted. “He’s far worse than a socialist.”
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“Some people have compared him to a left-wing version of you, charismatic, breaking the old rules. What do you think about that?” O’Donnell asked.
“Well, I think I’m a much better-looking person than him, right?” Trump replied.
O’Donnell then asked Trump what he would do if Mamdani, whom he called a communist, became mayor.
“It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York,” Trump said. “Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there. So I don’t know that he’s won, and I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or another, but if it’s gonna be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.”
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Last month, Trump declined to endorse any candidate in the New York City mayoral race, including Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. He added that he nevertheless intended to meet with Mamdani if he won the election.
“Yeah, I’ll speak to him,” Trump said. “I think I have an obligation to speak to him.”
Mamdani currently leads his closest opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, by at least ten points.
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Sunday’s interview was the first time Trump appeared on the CBS program after his settlement with CBS’ parent company Paramount. Trump sued the companies over an edited interview with then-Vice President Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Paramount Global agreed to pay Trump a $16 million settlement, though it did not acknowledge any journalistic wrongdoing in its settlement. Sources told Fox News Digital, however, that CBS has agreed to update its editorial standards, adding a new rule requiring the release of full, unedited transcripts of future presidential candidates’ interviews.
The sit-down was also Trump’s first “60 Minutes” appearance since Oct. 2020, when host Lesley Stahl repeatedly interrupted him during what he later called an “extremely hostile” interview. Trump ended the segment by abruptly walking out of the interview.
Trump had rejected invitations to appear before the 2024 presidential election, previously saying he would not return until he received an apology.
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