Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that the Trump administration would refuse to bail out New York City if Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wins office and pursues his sweeping agenda, invoking one of the city’s darkest financial moments.
In an interview on Fox Business Network, Bessent said he was certain the city’s finances would collapse under Mamdani’s leadership. “I guarantee you — and there are not a lot of things in life that are sure — that New York City will be coming to the federal government for a bailout if the Mamdani plans are implemented,” he said on Fox Business.
🚨 JUST IN: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says if Zohran Mamdani carries out his socialist plans as mayor, NYC will be BEGGING for a federal bailout – and that he WON'T give it to them.
"I guarantee you, and there are not lot of things in life that are sure, that New York… pic.twitter.com/4K93ATNlpU
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 24, 2025
Pressed on whether Washington would step in, Bessent was blunt. “It will be the same thing that Gerald Ford said: ‘Drop dead.’” The remark recalled 1975, when Ford refused to rescue New York from bankruptcy—though the president never used the phrase himself. It was a tabloid headline that captured his position and became part of the city’s political lore.
Bessent did not specify which of Mamdani’s proposals he believed would trigger a fiscal crisis. Mamdani, who secured the Democratic nomination on June 24 with 56 percent of the vote, has promised to cap rents, provide free public transit, open municipally run supermarkets, and guarantee universal childcare. To pay for it, he has proposed new taxes on corporations and a 2 percent surcharge on incomes over $1 million.
The Treasury chief also painted Mamdani as a “socialist” protégé of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a longtime critic of Bessent. Warren this week condemned the Trump administration’s consideration of support for Argentina’s embattled government by helping them stabilize their currency.
“We are working in close coordination with the Argentine government to prevent excessive volatility,” said Bessent, a day after Trump praised Milei during a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly of world leaders. “As President Trump has stated, we stand ready to do what is needed to support Argentina and the Argentine people.”
[Read More: Olbermann Apologizes After Threat]
I totally agree. New York and California are the two most likely states to suffer a financial collapse. Neither one should expect the other states to come to their rescue. Both are candidates for a Mad Max future.