Who Is Zohran Mamdani, The NYC Politician Getting Under Trump's Skin?

Even though President Donald Trump is currently redecorating in the White House, it's hard to forget that he cut his teeth as a real estate mogul in New York City. Being so enmeshed with the city that he famously appeared in a scene from "Home Alone 2," it seems it's been hard for Trump to let his New York roots go. Which is why it comes as no surprise that the canonically catty Trump has been going toe to toe with current New York mayoral candidate frontrunner, Zohran Mamdani.

When Mamdani won the Democratic primary in June, heavily beating out former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, he instantly landed on Trump's radar. In the wake of the results, Trump took to Truth Social to issue a resounding rebuke against the democratic socialist candidate, calling Mamdani "a 100% Communist Lunatic" before belittling his looks, voice, and intelligence. Since then, things have escalated between the two, with Trump apparently unable to keep himself from meddling in the lead up to the November elections.

Of course, it's quite easy to get under Trump's notoriously bronzed and thin skin, however, it appears that Mamdani is becoming a bigger sore spot for the president than many expected. 

Zohran Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda to parents Mahmood Mamdani and Mira Nair. Mahmood is an accomplished academic and Nair is a powerhouse filmmaker who directed award-winning indie darlings like "Monsoon Wedding."  The family relocated to New York when Zohran was 7. This has been a bit of a sticking point in the beef between Zohran and Donald Trump, as the president appears to have a distaste for Zohran's status as a legal citizen and immigrant.

In reporting from NBC in July of, Trump suggested that Zohran was in the country illegally after Republican Representative Andy Ogles implied that Zohran should be deported. While this language sparked alarm, Zohran did manage to use it to his advantage, making a cheeky video about returning to Uganda with his wife, artist and animator Rama Duwaji.

Zohran's mastery of public relations has certainly caught Trump's eye, and has potentially caused him to interfere with the New York mayoral elections. According to The Hill, Trump has been placing pressure on Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa to drop out of the race, all but ensuring a showdown between Zohran and Andrew Cuomo, who Trump would prefer to win. This led Zohran to up the ante and refuse to accept Cuomo's invitation to debate outside of already scheduled parameters, telling the New York Post, "Why should I debate Donald Trump's puppet when I could debate Donald Trump himself?" Knowing how Trump likes to put his fragile ego on display, it's safe to say this feud won't be wrapping up any time soon.