Donald Trump criticized Zohran Mamdani after he introduced a tax proposal targeting billionaires who own second homes in New York City.
“Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It has no chance! The United States of America should not contribute to its failure.”
The Republican president dismissed Mamdani’s tax proposal as misguided and claimed people were leaving the city. He said they must change their ways fast. He said similar policies have failed in the past.
According to Mirror US, Trump’s stark remarks against the Democratic mayor came after he introduced a plan to tax owners of luxury second homes valued at $5 million or more, aiming to raise to $500 million for the city.
The plan targets wealthy people who are not full-time New York City residents but invest in its real estate market. The bill, announced on April 15, will be called the pied-à-terre tax.
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“Well, today we’re taxing. I’m thrilled to announce we’ve secured a pied-a-tierre tax, the first in New York’s history. This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full-time in the city.” Mamdani wrote.
Mamdani said the bill aims to ensure fairness among residents of a city struggling with skyrocketing rent and homelessness. Monthly rent for an apartment in Queens averages $3,472 but ranges from $2,908 to $6,277.
The 34-year-old described the measure as “specifically designed for the richest of the rich,” saying it targets a “fundamentally unfair system that hurts working New Yorkers,”
Meanwhile, the proposal was properly introduced by Kathy Hochul, who wrote on X: “New Yorkers show up for this city every day. Some of the wealthiest property owners and foreign oligarchs don’t. It’s time they start contributing like everyone else.”
Hochul, New York’s first female governor, agreed with Mamdani on the tax proposal and secured support from others. According to Bloomberg, she was skeptical about taxing big companies and wealthy residents and preferred taxing second homes owned by individuals who do not pay state or city income taxes because their primary residences are elsewhere.
Zohran Mamdani has always believed taxing wealthier New Yorkers can close a projected $5.4 billion budget gap over two years and finance social programs. The pied-a-terre tax would now address the city’s long-unresolved fiscal deficit.
Trump and Mamdani never saw eye to eye. When the Queens-born politician was elected mayor of NYC, he thanked everyone for their trust and ended his note by saying, “The city belongs to you.”
According to The Guardian, Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of the state, acknowledged Mamdani’s victory and said New York had shown it would be the “light” in a “moment of political darkness.”
The mayor, whose campaign was about “dignity, affordability, and democracy, not fear,” issued a direct threat to Trump in his winning speech and slammed his rule. “So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up.”
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Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani isn’t the first person Donald Trump has publicly criticized. The 79-year-old recently also attacked Pope Leo XIV after the Vatican leader commented on Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran under Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28.
While Pope Leo indirectly criticized the Republicans and condemned their airstrikes on Iran, Donald Trump spoke to the media. He described Leo as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” adding he would prefer a leader who took a stricter stand against nuclear threats.
He also indirectly claimed Pope Leo supported the left-wing ideology and said, “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use common sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a great Pope, not a politician. It’s hurting him badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”
