President Trump said he would consider running Washington D.C., on a “federal basis” if a ‘Mamdani-style’ candidate wins the city’s mayoral election. “Mr. President, here in Washington D.C., there is a Democratic primary for mayor. One of the two leading candidates, Janeese Lewis George, is running a Zohran Mamdani campaign focused on socialist policies. How would you feel if she emerges victorious in next Tuesday’s race?” Gray Television’s Jon Decker asked. “I wouldn’t like it,” Trump responded. “Maybe we take back Washington, run it on the federal basis. We won’t put up with it. We’re not going to lose our businesses,” he added. Watch below: Q: There's a crazy socialist running for mayor of Washington, D.C. What if she wins?@POTUS: "I wouldn't like it — and maybe we take back Washington, run it on the federal basis. We won't put up with it. We're not going to lose our businesses." pic.twitter.com/XDG1977D2W — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 11, 2026 Axios provided info on the race: D.C.’s mayoral front-runners pounced at any chance to differentiate themselves during a debate Thursday — throwing personal attacks and wrestling over who’d best resist President Trump. Voters on June 16 will decide D.C.’s first new mayor in 12 years, with mail-in ballots already being cast. Trump talk dominated much of the NBC4 forum, seen as the contest’s final marquee stage in the tight contest. Janeese Lewis George tried to portray Kenyan McDuffie as soft on Trump, arguing his campaign had taken donations from supporters of the president, amounting to “tens of thousands of dollars” after a public match. To which McDuffie, whose stump speech often deploys the phrase “my fight is with Donald Trump,” shot back, saying “99.9%” of his donors are Democrats. “She’s engaging in a campaign of disinformation that is as Trump-like as you can get.” On the flip side, McDuffie claimed Lewis George is soft on crime, claiming her record on the D.C. Council backing progressive policing measures would make the city less safe. “By the way, Washington now is a safe, beautiful place,” Trump said. “People are coming, restaurants are thriving. The restaurants were all closing, closed. Nobody wanted — now you can’t get restaurant space, You can’t get in,” Trump continued. “We have a thriving community, we got rid of crime. We’re 92% down on crime, think of it. We will be close to 100% pretty soon. You always have some whack job someplace, but we will be close to 100%. Washington is thriving,” he added. Check it out: Reporter: Here in Washington DC, there's a Democratic primary for mayor. One of the two leading candidates, Janeese Lewis George, is running Mamdani campaign focused on socialist policies. How would you feel if she emerges victorious? Trump: Maybe we'd take back Washington, run… pic.twitter.com/GQMHNcePw8 — Acyn (@Acyn) June 11, 2026 POLITICO has more: Rini Sampath is a federal contractor who’s never run for public office, and the first-ever South Asian to qualify for the D.C. mayoral ballot. She’s skeptical of Trump’s efforts to make D.C. beautiful again. “Trump is not necessarily the safest actor in all of this,” Sampath said. “He does so much of this haphazardly,” she added, pointing to other projects like the proposed 250-foot triumphal arch. “There’s no such thing as free lunch with a relationship with the president of the United States,” Sampath said. “While you want to immediately go toward praising his accomplishments, I just don’t think it comes for free. I think there’s always some kind of a caveat.” The fountain at Meridian Hill Park, known to locals as Malcolm X Park, shut off in 2019, just four years into Bowser’s tenure. Vincent “VO” Orange, who’s spent nearly 15 years in D.C. politics, said “it felt like a gut punch” when the fountain was turned off. Orange, the former president of D.C.’s Chamber of Commerce and at-large council member, acknowledged the effort requires maintenance and funding to keep projects alive. But he’s “all in” for future endeavors. Police reform has also roiled the race — particularly in light of Trump’s push to crack down on crime. There’s general consensus an MPD shakeup is coming. Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll is likely on the way out no matter who wins the race. In a forum this month, zero of the six participating candidates raised their hand when asked if they would keep Carroll in the post.