President Trump sent a message to Democratic candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani during an exclusive interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, taking a brutal shot at the rising star’s appearance.
The interview— led by CBS’s Norah O’Donnell and shot on Friday at Mar-a-Lago— was the first time Trump sat down with the popular newscast since he settled a lawsuit over the summer over an interview they did with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The president discussed some of the most pressing issues of his administration, including escalating tensions with Venezuela, the government shutdown, the Israel-Gaza conflict, and immigration. However, the two also took the time to discuss a local election that has taken the nation by storm— New York City’s mayoral race.
“Zohran Mamdani, 34-year-old democratic socialist,” O’Donnell said before being cut off by the president.
“Communist. He’s far worse than a socialist,” Trump said.
O’Donnell continued by noting that some voters have compared Mamdani to a “left-wing version” of the president: “charismatic, breaking the old rules,” the journalist said.
“Well, I think I’m a much better-looking person,” the president responded in nine brutal words.
Trump has often taken center stage in the New York City mayoral race, with the different candidates expressing how they would go about building a relationship, if at all, with the White House. For instance, throughout his campaign, Mamdani has sought to position himself as the candidate who would take the strongest stance against the president, appearing alongside progressive Trump foes, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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Trump has often mocked some of Mamdani’s campaign proposals, such as freezing rent and free bus rides, dubbing him “my little communist.”
Early voting for New York City’s mayoral race will end Sunday, when polls close at 9 p.m. They will be opened once again on Tuesday, Election Day. So far, approximately 735,000 New Yorkers have cast their ballots, far more than were cast at the same point in the last mayoral election. On Sunday alone, 151,000 people voted, the most of any day since the polls closed, according to The New York Times.
But despite Trump’s repeated attacks to Mamdani, another president— Barack Obama— has reportedly been impressed with the Democratic rising star. Obama and Mamdani reportedly spoke over the weekend in a private, approximately 30-minute phone call, during which the former president expressed his admiration for the candidate’s campaign, as well as the challenges in combating the Trump administration.
“Your campaign has been so impressive to watch,” Obama, who has not formally endorsed a mayoral candidate, told Mamdani.
Trump’s recent interview was the first time he sat down with 60 Minutes in five years.
