(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) ripped President Donald Trump’s administration for its military strikes against Iran, branding it a “catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression.”
Mamdani slammed the operation in an X post on Saturday, just two days after he met with the president in another chummy meeting that included the two smiling side-by-side at the White House. The Democratic Socialist did not call out Trump by name in his post, but he made it clear he did not support the strike.
“Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war,” Mamdani wrote. “Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace.”
Mamdani added he had taken “proactive steps” to make sure his city is safe, including “increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations.”
“Additionally, I want to speak directly to Iranian New Yorkers: you are part of the fabric of this city — you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders,” he added. “You will be safe here.”
His criticism follows what he called a “productive meeting” with Trump on Thursday. Mamdani presented Trump with two different mock New York Daily News covers, one with the headline “Trump to City: Let’s Build” and another that read “Ford to the City: Drop Dead.” The latter was a famous Daily News cover from 1975 when then-President Gerald Ford declined to send federal money to bail out NYC.
Associated Press White House correspondent Seung Min Kim added some color to what was discussed between Trump and Mamdani, reporting, “Last time the two met, Trump asked him to return with ideas to build big things. Mamdani came back with a massive housing proposal. Mamdani’s team created mock headlines to show Trump how such a project would be received. He was ‘very enthusiastic.’”
Trump and Mamdani’s latest meeting comes after the two had a lovefest at the White House back in November. But the mayor has no love for Trump’s push to take out Iran’s theocratic regime, it appears.
Earlier on Saturday, Israel’s N12 News reported the Israeli government believes that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead. Fox News reported on Saturday afternoon that has not been confirmed yet.
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