Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Monday if President Donald Trump would attempt to deport Zohran Mamdani in a provocative exchange with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. (Watch the video below.)
Doocy leaned into the dubious pursuit of far-right Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) to have Mamdani, who won New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor, be denaturalized for allegedly concealing pro-terrorism ideology based on rap lyrics he wrote years ago.
The attempts to demonize Mamdani, a Muslim who appealed to many New Yorkers with calls for rent freezes, city-owned grocery stores and subsidized child care, have accelerated after Mamdani stunned former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the election for the inside track to victory in November.
“Does President Trump want Zohran Mamdani deported?” Doocy asked.
Leavitt smiled at the assertion.
“I haven’t heard him say that, I haven’t heard him call for that, but certainly he does not want this individual to be elected,” she answered. “I was just speaking to him about it and his radical policies that will completely crush New York City, which is obviously a city that the president holds near and dear to his heart.”
Doocy then mentioned Ogles’ pot-stirring and asked, “Does President Trump think this is a worthwhile use of [Attorney General Pam Bondi’s] time?”
“Well, I’ll let the president speak to that,” Leavitt replied. “I have not seen those claims, but surely if they are true, it’s something that should be investigated.”
Doocy pointed to Mamdani’s reluctance on “Meet the Press” to condemn the Palestinian rallying phrase “globalize the intifada.” That caught the attention of top Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), who sought an explanation from Mamdani, despite the mayoral candidate’s assertion that there is no room for antisemitism in the city.
“Could President Trump see himself ... working with a Mayor Mamdani?” Doocy asked.
Leavitt took the bait to fuel more paranoia about the upstart’s candidacy.
“Yeah, look, the president is always willing to work with everyone,” she replied. “He’s working with Democrats across the country, Democrat governors. And he said he’ll work with people on the far left. He works with Republicans. He works with people in the middle. He wants to do what’s right for America. But surely someone who holds these values and is quite literally a communist, and condemns every value that makes this country great. Common sense, law and order, low taxes, working hard and earning your keep in this country. He’s against all of that. And I think the president would find it difficult to work with someone like that. If he is elected, I’m sure you’ll hear more from the president on that. But we’ll have to see. Hopefully, the voters of New York City choose wisely.”