As Trump Hurls Fresh Threats and Insults, Hochul Has Mamdani’s Back

The battle lines between President Trump and two prominent New Yorkers were being solidified on Tuesday amid a fresh barrage of the president’s threats, provocations and distortions.

The New Yorkers — Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner for mayor, and Gov. Kathy Hochul — made their first joint appearance since she endorsed him last month.

Ms. Hochul praised Mr. Mamdani for “putting a special exclamation point on how hard it is for the families struggling in this city” and pledged to work with him to deliver universal child care next year. Then she told reporters that she would resist Mr. Trump’s threats to withhold federal funding from the city.

“I’ll fight like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Ms. Hochul said.

A short time earlier, at the White House, Mr. Trump had characterized Mr. Mamdani as an inexperienced candidate who “practically hasn’t worked a day in his life.” He said, falsely, that Mr. Mamdani “wants to get rid of all police,” that he is a communist (he is a democratic socialist) and that he hates Jewish people (Mr. Mamdani is a critic of Israel, but has said repeatedly that he will not tolerate prejudice toward Jewish people).

The president repeated his threat to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from New York City if Mr. Mamdani is elected and enacts policies he does not like.

“I wouldn’t be generous to a communist, a guy who is going to take the money and throw it out the window,” Mr. Trump said.