Trump floated taking over the city under a Mamdani mayoralty, saying, “We have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to.”

President Donald Trump said his administration is weighing whether to take control of the city of Washington, DC, to help combat crime, in a move that would represent a dramatic upheaval to the capital’s half-century of home rule.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump was asked about the New York City mayor’s race. Mamdani won the Democratic primary last month, drawing the ire of Trump. Mamdani is a self-described democratic socialist. Trump has consistently referred to Mamdani as a communist; Mamdani has said that he is not.