After Taking Over Washington DC Police, Trump Eyes New York — Mamdani Rallies Opposition

US President Donald Trump made good on his threat to seize control of Washington DC’s police, invoking the Home Rule Act to bring the force under federal command and deploying the National Guard, The Hindu reported.

Calling it “liberation day” and a “historic action”, Trump vowed, “We’re going to clean it up real quick, very quickly,” adding that his crackdown would “go further” to other cities.

At a cabinet meeting weeks earlier, Trump had warned he might take over New York City if Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani won in November. “I'm going to look at New York in a little while. Let's do this. Let's do this together. Let's see. It's going to go pretty quickly,” he said, calling New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles “disasters.”

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Trump has derided Mamdani as a “communist”. The 33-year-old Indian-origin state assembly member describes himself as “a democratic socialist” and claims Trump targets him for being Muslim.

Mamdani’s campaign responded to earlier remarks: “Donald Trump has once again chosen to treat democracy like a suggestion and insult the more than half a million New Yorkers who voted for Zohran Mamdani’s leadership and a city they can afford.”

Mamdani launched his “Five Boroughs Against Trump” tour, pledging to “save the city from Trump” and protect immigrants from “unlawful detentions and potential deportations.”

Washington has been self-governing since 1973, but its autonomy remains limited under the Home Rule Act, which leaves its laws and budget under Congress. Mayor Muriel Bowser has disputed Trump’s crime data claims, but the president insists his administration has “tremendous power… to run places when we have to.”

Mamdani, who beat former governor Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination, faces independent bids from current mayor Eric Adams and Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

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