President Donald Trump on Wednesday, in what appeared to be a continuation of his extreme attacks on Zohran Mamdani, vowed to use the powers of the presidency to block the New York City Democratic mayoral nominee. The President did not use Mamdani’s name but did use the same slur he has used against him in recent days.

“As President of the United States,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on his social media website, “I’m not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it “Hot” and “Great” again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!”

It was unclear if Trump was suggesting he would attempt to block Mamdani from being elected or block his agenda should he become New York City’s mayor.

Trump has previously referred to Mamdani, who is not a communist but a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, as a communist.

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On Tuesday, Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani if he interfered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in NYC. He also threatened to deport Mamdani, who is currently serving as an elected New York State assemblyman.

“Well then we’ll have to arrest him,” Trump said when a reporter mentioned Mamdani might block ICE agents in New York City should he win the mayoral election, as The Washington Post reported. “Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over them very carefully on behalf of the nation.”

“Trump’s attack on the mayoral candidate echoed language he has long used to lend credibility to falsehoods,” The New York Times reported:

“A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally,” Trump said of Mamdani. “We’re going to look at everything.”

Mamdani spoke out against Trump’s threats.

“The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city,” Mamdani said on Tuesday, The Post also reported.

“His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation,” he added.

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“He’s a communist,” Trump had told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired Sunday. “I think it’s very bad for New York. I don’t know that he’s gonna get in. It’s inconceivable … but he’s a Communist, and he’s pure Communist. I think he admits it. I can’t imagine it, but let’s say this: If he does get in, I’m gonna be president, then he’s going to have to do the right thing, but they’re not getting any money. He’s got to do the right thing.”

Mamdani has directly denied being a communist, and likens his use of the term “democratic socialist” to remarks made by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as HuffPost reported. He also commented on Trump’s attacks.

“I have already had to start to get used to the fact that the president will talk about how I look, how I sound, where I’m from, who I am,” Mamdani told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “Ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for, and I’m fighting for the very working people that he ran a campaign to empower, that he has since then betrayed.”

Watch a short clip of Trump’s remarks on Tuesday below or at this link.

Trump falsely suggests @ZohranKMamdani is in the country “illegally” calls him a communist (he’s a Dem socialist) and then then goes on to call @ericadamsfornyc a “very good person” who he “helped out a little bit.” pic.twitter.com/7tOoULgPek

— Gloria Pazmino (@GloriaPazmino) July 1, 2025

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Image via Reuters

President Donald Trump toured “Alligator Alcatraz” on Tuesday, the federal immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that boasts alligators as part of a natural escape barrier. Now, Trump is vowing to renovate the original Alcatraz, just off the coast of California, a former federal maximum security prison that he claims is, or will be, “surrounded by sharks.”

Before jetting off to Florida, Trump joked with reporters (video below) about detainees facing deportation who would have to navigate around the alligators in the Everglades should they try to escape.

Later in the day, Trump posted to his social media website about his new inspiration.

“Because of the Violence and Criminality I have seen due to the Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden, in particular allowing millions of people into our Country who shouldn’t be here, I wanted something representative to show how we fight back, and then, it happened,” the President wrote.

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“I saw a picture of ALCATRAZ looking so foreboding, and I said, ‘We’re going to look into renovating and rebuilding the famous ALCATRAZ Prison sitting high on the Bay, surrounded by sharks. What a symbol it is, and will be!’ Conceptual work started six months ago, and various prison development firms are looking at doing it with us. Still a little early, but lots of promise!”

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere remarked, “the president says he’s looking into spending federal money, in part, to put sharks into the San Francisco Bay.”

If Trump actually wants Alcatraz to be surrounded by truly dangerous sharks, as Dovere notes he may have to bring them there. The ones currently surrounding the tiny island reportedly may not be especially dangerous, according to the Pacific Open Water Swim Co.

Other critics blasted Trump’s remarks.

Investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze remarked, “So we’re rebuilding Alcatraz based on… a vibe?”

“Trump saw a moody picture of a defunct prison and decided that’s the future of immigration policy, locking up desperate families on a shark-surrounded island like a Bond villain with zoning permits,” he added. “This cruel and reckless governance is nothing but a cinematic cosplay with real human lives at stake.”

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Another social media user wrote: “Trump wants to bring back Alcatraz. Not to house mob bosses or war criminals, but to make a ‘symbol’ out of locking up desperate migrants. Sharks and spectacle. This isn’t immigration policy. It’s a twisted cruelty straight out of a 1930s Germany. You don’t rebuild a prison for the camera unless cruelty is the point. That’s not ‘fighting back’, that’s feeding fear and hatred to your base and calling it leadership. History already wrote this playbook, and it ends in concentration camps, not justice. We are better than this, no?”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Doocy: With Alliagator Alcatraz, is the idea that if some illegal immigrant escapes, they just get eaten by an alligator?

Trump: I guess that’s the concept. Snakes are fast but alligators— we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator. Don’t run in a straight line,… pic.twitter.com/xnGTUTALDr

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 1, 2025

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Image via Reuters

President Donald Trump ignited outrage after touring a new federal migrant mass detention site in the Florida Everglades—denounced by some as a modern-day concentration camp—and calling for the deportation of some U.S. citizens who commit crimes.

“I’d like to say it, you know, it’s a little controversial, but I couldn’t care less,” the President began. “We have a lot of bad criminals that came into the, into this country, and they came in stupidly—it was an unforced error, it was an incompetent president that allowed it to happen. It was an autopen, maybe, that allowed it to happen.”

“And it did happen,” he continued, “but we also have a lot of bad people that have been here for a long time, people that whacked people over the head with a baseball bat from behind when they’re not looking and killed them. People that knife you when you’re walking down the street. They’re not new to our country. They’re old to our country. Many of them are born in our country.”

“I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, you want to know the truth,” Trump declared.

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The President’s remarks weren’t idle speculation or musings—they reflect a deliberate and dangerous shift in policy.

“The Justice Department is aggressively prioritizing efforts to strip some Americans of their U.S. citizenship,” NPR reported on Monday. “Department leadership is directing its attorneys to prioritize denaturalization in cases involving naturalized citizens who commit certain crimes — and giving U.S. attorneys wider discretion on when to pursue this tactic, according to a June 11 memo published online.”

Critics were aghast at Trump’s remarks.

“Citizens. I’m going to say it again. This is fascism. MAGA can cry all you want but this is exactly what every f—— dictator in history wanted. Wake the f— up,” wrote Fred Wellman, a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Kennedy School who is now the host of the podcast “On Democracy.”

“Trump claimed he’d focus on deporting immigrants with criminal records,” noted U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA). “Now, he’s indiscriminately targeting all immigrants. So when he says American citizens are next, we should take it seriously.”

“Someone, anyone, please tell me how this isn’t straight up fascist,” urged former U.S. Ambassador Luis Moreno.

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“The American experiment is predicated on the notion that we’re a place where people can disagree & live peacefully together,” wrote Oklahoma Democratic state Representative Forrest Bennett. “He thinks people who disagree with him are ‘bad.’ He’s counting on his supporters to value short term satisfaction over longterm preservation of rights.”

Referring to remarks Trump made in April, Professor of history and scholar of fascism Ruth Ben-Ghiat issued this warning: “‘The Homegrowns Will Be Next,’ is one of the more chilling authoritarian phrases I have heard. This is also why they want to increase ICE’s budget so much.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Trump calls for deporting US citizens: “We also have a lot of bad people that have been here for a long time … many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here too, if you want to know the truth. So maybe that’ll be the next job.” pic.twitter.com/zQDOlqjB3u

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 1, 2025

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Image via Reuters