President Trump warned during a speech in Miami that New Yorkers will soon flee to Florida following the New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D) win on Tuesday.
“Now the Democrats are so extreme that Miami will soon be the refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City. They flee,” Trump said speaking to a crowd at the America Business Forum.
“Where do you live? New York City, but I’m trying to leave because I don’t want to live in a communist regime,” he added.
Trump himself left his native New York City for Palm Beach in 2019, saying he had been treated poorly by Democratic leaders in the city and state.
“When I left New York for the White House, it was good except we had the telltale signs of trouble because we had a guy named De Blasio,” Trump said, taking a swipe at the city’s former Mayor Bill De Blasio (D). “He goes down as probably the worst mayor in history.”
Florida Republicans have successfully appealed to the state’s immigrants from countries like Venezuela and Cuba, warning of what they say is widespread socialism and communism within the Democratic Party.
“As I’ve warned for many years, our opponents are hell-bent on turning America into a communist Cuba or a socialist Venezuela, and you see what happened to those places,” Trump said in his speech.
The president’s remarks are the latest salvo in the intensifying war of words between himself and Mamdani, who identifies as a Democratic Socialist.
Mamdani egged Trump on during his victory speech in Brooklyn on Tuesday evening.
“So Donald Trump since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up,” the mayor-elect said.
During Mamdani’s address, Trump posted “…AND SO IT BEGINS!” on TruthSocial.
