Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on the Big Apple’s “sanctuary city” status in response to new chum President Trump’s warning that he’ll pull federal funding over the migrant-friendly policies.
“Our values and our laws cannot be bargaining chips,” the lefty mayor wrote on X. “I will always defend the city and every single person who calls the city home, even in the face of threats from the federal administration to withhold funds.”
Trump said Tuesday that he would freeze federal funding to sanctuary city and states — including New York and New York City — on Feb. 1, claiming they “do everything possible to protect criminals.”
Cities and states who claim sanctuary city status typically protect immigrant rights and refuse or limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement — which derails Trump’s ongoing campaign to arrest and deport thousands of people living in the US without legal authorization.
Mamdani, who as The Post reported this week remains chummy with Trump and chats with him over text about twice a week, said he reached out to the president about the latest funding threat.
“So, I reached out to President Trump to express my sharp opposition to this decision and to make my values clear, and I will always continue to do so, whether to the president or to all New Yorkers, to be honest about where I actually stand,” he said Tuesday night.
“I have yet to hear back from the president, and this is the position I hold as the mayor of New York.”
But Trump appears to have left Hizzoner on read — as Mamdani said he’d yet to hear back from the White House on Wednesday.
“We haven’t yet connected,” he said at an unrelated press conference at a Cypress Hill, Brooklyn child care center.
The standoff could test the unusual bromance between the Democratic socialist mayor and the right-wing Republican president, which grew out of an unexpectedly cordial White House meeting in November.
Most believed the two would exchange verbal barbs in what was their first face-to-face meeting, but they instead emerged with handshakes and kind words for each other.
Asked what his plan was should the feds pull federal funding, Mamdani said he was sure the city could fight back.
“There are many threats that are made to New York City on on a regular basis, and I am confident in our city’s ability to fight those threats back,” he said Tuesday. “And we’ve also seen, whether it be in the ports, or whether it be beyond that, our ability to win those threats.”
