President Donald Trump criticised New York City’s Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani in a Miami speech on Wednesday, reaffirming his policy goals following a series of Democratic victories nationwide.
Trump labelled Mamdani “a communist” and said, “If you want to see what congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the result of yesterday’s election in New York, where their party installed a communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation.”
Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, has rejected these claims. He defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had Trump’s endorsement.
Trump acknowledged the setback, saying, “We lost a little bit of sovereignty last night in New York, but we’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it.” Despite previously threatening to cut federal funds to the city, he hinted at possible cooperation: “We’ll help him a little bit, maybe.”
The Democrats also won key gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, with Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill securing large leads. Democrat Jay Jones won Virginia’s attorney general race, despite personal controversy.
Speaking to Republican senators, Trump conceded, “Last night… I don’t think it was good for Republicans.” He blamed the government shutdown—now the longest in U.S. history—for harming GOP chances, saying, “If you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans.” He also cited his absence from the ballot as a major factor.
The shutdown, which has furloughed many government workers and disrupted services, is widely criticised. Trump stressed, “We must get the government back open soon, and really immediately,” and urged Republicans to end the Senate filibuster to break the legislative deadlock.
Some Republican leaders dismissed the results as predictable. House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “Blue states and blue cities voted blue,” while Vice President JD Vance called it “idiotic to overreact to a couple of elections in blue states.” Still, Vance stressed the party needs to improve turnout and focus on issues like affordability.