Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin escalated his war of words against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, labeling him a “radical socialist” who is “anti-law enforcement” during a press conference on Thursday. The remarks came after a reporter inquired whether federal immigration operations in sanctuary cities like New York would differ from enforcement efforts in other parts of the country.
Mullin’s Criticism of Mamdani
“When you take somebody like Mamdani, who is just this radical socialist that’s anti-law enforcement, anti-police, it’s shameful because NYPD is awesome. They’re phenomenal to work with. They have the best crowd procedures, they have the best law enforcement agency,” Mullin said. He praised the NYPD, stating, “I’d put them up against just about any city around the country – and they have a pride about them of doing so.”
Mullin then accused Mamdani of hindering police work. “All these guys in the NYPD, they just want to go to work. They want to do something that they feel like they were called to do — and they’re great at it,” Mullin said. “But they got a leader that’s handcuffing them, and hopefully the people of New York will wise up and get a true leader in there in a few years.”
Mamdani’s Meeting with Trump
Mullin also criticized Mamdani over his meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in November 2025, following months of public insults between the mayor and the president. “You see the way he treated President Trump? I mean, President Trump literally brought him into the Oval Office, let him stand beside him, tried to actually give the olive branch and say, ‘Listen, we can set our political differences [aside] together.’ But President Trump loves New York City. He loves the Knicks, too, obviously. And the fact, the way the mayor treated him once he left the Oval Office will tell you what type of man he is,” Mullin said.
Days after the surprisingly cordial meeting, a reporter asked Mamdani if he still stood by his previous allegations that Trump was a fascist. “That’s something that I’ve said in the past. I say it today,” Mamdani told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And I think what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that has brought us to this moment. And we also wanted to focus on what it could look like to deliver on a shared analysis of an affordability crisis for New Yorkers.”
Ongoing Feud
Mamdani has been a frequent target of Mullin’s ire. Earlier this week, after Mamdani renewed his call for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mullin alleged that the New York City mayor was “absolutely destroying a great city.”
