This month is the 63rd anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis. In October 1962, Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev tried to intimidate the young first-term U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, by moving nuclear warheads and missiles into Cuba. Though the threat of nuclear war loomed, Kennedy rose to the challenge: Khrushchev blinked, and Russia removed the nuclear warheads from Cuba.
We are now witnessing another generational standoff between America’s bully-in-chief, President Donald Trump, and Zohran Mamdani, the likely next mayor of New York City, whom Trump has referred to as “Mamdani the commie.” In 1962, Khrushchev was 23 years older than Kennedy. The difference in age between Trump and Mamdani — 44 years — is about double.
Trump’s vindictiveness will not stop with mere threats.
If Mamdani becomes mayor, Trump has vowed to withhold billions of dollars in federal funds from New York, take over New York “when we have to,” and arrest Mamdani if he defies federal immigration enforcement. This week, the president admitted Mamdani is likely to win, “but here’s the good news: He’s got to go through the White House.” The other object of Trump’s bullying is New York City voters, who effectively are being told that voting for Mamdani risks reprisals against their city.
Trump’s vindictiveness will not stop with mere threats. To understand what is in store for New York, we need look no further than the illegal actions Trump has already perpetrated against colleges, universities, law firms and other cities and states. Trump may, for instance, direct federal agencies to conduct bogus investigations of New York City agencies for their use of federal funds. He may federalize the New York National Guard to patrol the City’s streets under the pretext of fighting crime. He may demand his Justice Department indict Mamdani on flimsy pretexts, such as not cooperating with his immigration policies.
So far, Trump has spared New York from the wrath he has inflicted on other major Democratic Party-controlled cities, including Washington, D.C.; Chicago; and Los Angeles. But that’s because current Mayor Eric Adams agreed to cooperate with the administration’s immigration policies, and in return the Justice Department moved to dismiss Adams’ federal charges for bribery and fraud. With Adams no longer mayor, Trump will lose the benefit of that arrangement.
Mamdani has no illusions about Trump’s vindictiveness. So far, Mamdani has politically pushed back against Trump’s bullying with the united front of New York’s two top state officials — Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James (herself a target of the president). He has likely recognized that every target of Trump’s bullying that has stood up to the president has gained rather than lost political clout. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for example, regained public support after directly confronting federal agents when Trump sent the National Guard into LA.
But more is now needed. It is not too early to create a detailed strategic plan to thwart Trump’s bullying once Mamdani becomes mayor.
Fighting this legal battle will take enormous legal firepower.
A major battleground in this fight will be the federal court in the Southern District of New York. Mamdani’s team should review what legal actions other cities and states have brought against the Trump administration in federal court and begin compiling the types of legal pleadings that are likely to be successful. A committee of advisers should oversee the drafting of ready-to-file court papers to use, as necessary, the day Mamdani becomes Mayor.
Fortunately for that committee, Trump has shown a penchant for not following the U.S. Constitution and statutory law. This has been his underlying weakness in his ongoing retribution campaigns against his perceived enemies. New York City must be prepared to seize on those missteps and follow the examples of Harvard University, Jenner & Block and other institutions that have successfully used Trump’s blatant violations of the law against him in court.
Fighting this legal battle will take enormous legal firepower. The New York City Law Department handles the filing of such lawsuits. However, the Law Department currently has numerous vacancies for lawyers. As soon as Mamdani becomes mayor, he must fill those positions.
Mamdani is all but certain to face the full spectrum of intimidation from Trump and his allies. A well-thought-out strategic plan, similar to the one Kennedy orchestrated in response to Khrushchev, is the best path to defeating the bully.
