WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump took aim at New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani during a wide-ranging interview on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, mocking comparisons between himself and the progressive candidate and labeling Mamdani a “communist” rather than a “democratic socialist.”

The exchange came when CBS senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell pressed Trump on whether he saw similarities between his own populist rise and Mamdani’s grassroots surge within New York City’s liberal base. The 34-year-old state assemblyman has emerged as a leading contender to succeed Mayor Eric Adams, running on a platform that mixes democratic socialism with staunchly anti-establishment rhetoric.

“Some people have compared him to a left-wing version of you — charismatic, breaking the old rules,” O’Donnell said during the segment.

Trump, smirking, immediately cut in with a characteristic jab. “Well, I think I’m a much better looking person than him, right?” he said, prompting laughter from the studio crew. “Let’s start with that.”

But Trump quickly turned serious when discussing Mamdani’s politics, rejecting the idea that the Queens lawmaker merely represents a socialist movement. “Communist, not socialist. Communist,” Trump said flatly. “He’s far worse than a socialist.”

Trump accused Mamdani of pushing policies that would “wreck” New York City, citing his support for rent control expansion, fare-free public transit, and redistributive taxation. “He wants to take money from the people who work and give it away,” Trump said. “That’s not socialism — that’s communism with a fancy label.”

The president also hinted that a Mamdani victory could have consequences for New York’s relationship with Washington. Asked whether he would continue federal support for the city under a Mamdani administration, Trump said he would “think twice” before allocating funds.

“It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York,” he warned. “Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there.”

Trump’s remarks reflect growing Republican alarm over Mamdani’s surge in polls. Once considered a longshot, the Astoria-based assemblyman has outpaced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and several centrist Democrats in recent surveys, fueled by grassroots enthusiasm among younger and more diverse voters.

The president, who remains the frontrunner for the 2028 Republican nomination, said that while he has “no great love” for Cuomo, he would still prefer the former governor to Mamdani. “If it’s between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you,” Trump said. “At least you can talk to them. With the communists, you can’t.”

Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and ally of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has drawn sharp criticism from conservatives for his foreign policy positions and vocal advocacy for cutting police budgets. Trump’s comments mark his most direct intervention in the New York mayoral race to date — a race that has increasingly become a flashpoint in the national debate over the future of the Democratic Party.

A senior Trump campaign aide later doubled down on the president’s remarks, telling reporters that “Trump’s right — Mamdani isn’t a socialist, he’s a radical ideologue who would destroy New York’s economy.” The aide added that “New Yorkers deserve a mayor who cares about jobs and safety, not utopian fantasies.”

For his part, Mamdani has not yet publicly responded to Trump’s comments. But his campaign has previously embraced attacks from conservatives as proof of his outsider status. In an earlier rally, Mamdani told supporters that “if the establishment fears you, you’re doing something right.”

Still, Trump’s decision to target Mamdani directly could signal that Republicans see his candidacy as a bellwether for a potential left-wing resurgence in major U.S. cities. The former president ended the interview by suggesting that voters in New York “will regret it deeply” if they choose a “Marxist” mayor.

“New York is already struggling,” Trump said. “If they elect a guy like Mamdani, the city’s going to go right back to the bad old days — crime, chaos, and no business left. I turned this country around once; maybe I’ll have to save New York next.”