Trump says that he's' better looking' than Mamdani, as New York mayor race nears end

US President Donald Trump said in a television interview that he was 'better looking' than New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as the New York mayoral race reaches its final stages.

He said this on the CBS’ ’60 Minutes’ programme, after host Norah O’Donnell asked him how he felt about Mamdani being called a "left-wing version" of Trump.

"Some people have compared him to a left-wing version of you, charismatic, breaking the old rules. What do you think about that?," she asked Trump.

"Well, I think that I’m a much better-looking person than him, right?" O’Donnell abruptly replied "okay" before moving on to her next question.

Trump made similar remarks regarding his rival, former Vice President Kamala Harris, back in August 2024 during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, saying he was a “better looking person” than her.

Trump also referred to Mamdani as a "communist" and "far worse" than a socialist, when O’Donnell described the mayoral candidate as a democratic socialist in the interview.

Later in the interview, Trump then suggested he would cut back on federal funds for New York if Mamdani was voted mayor.

"It's going to be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running [New York], all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there."

Despite saying he was "no fan" of Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former New York governor also running for mayor, Trump said he would rather pick a "bad Democrat" over a "communist" if he had to choose.

O’Donnell also grilled Trump on immigration, ICE detentions and healthcare.

Trump’s comments came as thousands of New York residents cast their votes in the mayoral race that has gripped the country and the world. Polls suggest that Mamdani is likely to win the election become the first Muslim mayor of the biggest city in America.

Mamdani, a self-described socialist, has captured global attention for his policies, campaigns style and outreach to New York’s ethnically diverse population.

During his campaign, the 34-year-old has pledged to introduce free buses, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized housing, publically owned grocery stores and to raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2023,

Mamdani has also nodded to the diverse character of New York by meeting with multiple faith leaders, visited community centres and appeared in campaign ads while speaking in multiple languages, including Arabic.

The Democrat candidate is up against Andrew Cuomo, the scandal-hit former governor of New York, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani beat Cuomo in the Democratic primary back in June in a major upset, forcing the latter to run as an independent.

The 34-year-old former state assemblyman, who is the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and post-colonial academic Mahmoud Mamdani, has faced Islamophobic smear campaigns throughout the mayoral race, including from his fellow candidates

This prompted Mamdani to address the bigoted rhetoric used against him last week, and pledged to further embrace his Muslim identity despite being faced with repeated attacks.

Ilhan Omar not spared

In another attack on a Muslim politician, Trump on Friday said that Somali-American Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar "should go back" to her county in a Truth Social post.

The remark came after a video of Omar began circulating on right-wing social media in recent weeks, prompting another wave of attacks on her.

The video purports to show Omar speaking in Somali at a community event in Minneapolis while praising Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Omar responded on social media on Sunday on X, saying that Trump "can hate all he wants".

"I’m not going anywhere," she added.

Omar, the first Somali-American and second Muslim-American to serve in Congress, has been the subject of several attacks by Trump both during his current presidency and his previous one.