New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani told “Good Morning America” on Wednesday that he would not be “intimidated” by potential threats from President Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard to the city.
“Their threats are inevitable,” Mamdani said. “This has nothing to do with safety, it has to do with intimidation.”
“If it were about security, President Trump would be threatening to deploy the National Guard to the 10 highest crime states, eight of which are led by Republicans,” Mamdani added. “But because of that party, he actually won’t.”
Zohran Mamdani speaks after winning the mayoral election, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
The 34-year-old democratic socialist was victorious amid record turnout in New York City. More than 2 million voters went to the polls on Tuesday, the first time a mayoral election crossed that threshold since 1969.
Mamdani will become the city’s youngest mayor since 1892 and the first Muslim to hold the position.
New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani appears on “Good Morning America,” Nov. 5, 2025.
ABC News
Mamdani also said he viewed his election victory as a “mandate” to pursue the “most ambitious” affordability agenda for New Yorkers in decades.
He described the first steps to fund that agenda as pushing to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, along with raising corporate taxes to 11.5% from their current level of about 7.25%.
“These things together raise about $9 billion,” he said, “which more than pays for the economic agenda and also begins to make our city Trump-proof.”
Mamdani’s proposal for city-funded universal child care is among the policies he said he planned to fund with new tax revenue.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
