The White House on Thursday criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s spouse just hours after his inauguration. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Rama Duwaji, the city’s first lady, of hypocrisy over her attire at the swearing-in ceremony.
Leavitt pointed to Duwaji’s decision to wear $630 Miista designer boots during the event, which took place in an abandoned subway tunnel.
The remarks marked one of the first public critiques from the White House directed at Mamdani’s administration following his inauguration earlier in the day.
“They want New Yorkers to hand over more than half their income to the government – while she wears designer boots worth your weekly paycheck,” Leavitt noted on the Instagram platform. “Classic Communists – rules for you, but not for them. There are reasons Communism has failed everywhere it’s been tried. Good luck, New York.”
A stylist for Rama Duwaji claimed the boots she wore to the inauguration were borrowed, as if that mattered.
The exchange comes as the mayor is advancing an ambitious ‘affordability’ agenda that was central to his campaign. His proposals include universal child care for children from six weeks to five years old, a rent freeze for roughly two million rent-stabilized tenants, making city buses free and faster, and creating city-run grocery stores aimed at lowering food prices.
Mamdani has not said that New Yorkers would be required to give up more than half of their income, as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt alleged. He has said his initiatives would be funded in part through higher taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations. But historically, under socialism, the elite tend to still do better while the working class suffers economically.
Leavitt’s comments followed a meeting earlier this week between Mamdani and President Donald Trump at the White House that both sides described as cordial.
In his inaugural address, Mamdani reaffirmed his commitment to left-wing policy priorities as he begins his term in office.
“I was elected as a Democratic Socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” Mamdani told the crowd. “I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
The mayor on Saturday said he told President Trump directly that he opposed the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Mamdani said he spoke with Trump by phone Saturday after being briefed on Maduro’s capture and his arrival in New York, where he is expected to face prosecution on narco-terrorism charges.
“I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act,” Mamdani said, “and to make clear that it was an opposition based on being opposed to a pursuit of regime change, to the violation of federal international law, and a desire to see that be consistent each and every day.”
Mamdani, speaking on his third day in office, was asked about the U.S. military strike in Venezuela during an unrelated news conference in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. Mamdani did not disclose how Trump responded to his objections during their phone call, CBS News reported.
“I registered my opposition. I made it clear and we left it at that,” Mamdani said.
Earlier, he released a statement on the X platform regarding the capture:
“I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City. Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law. This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.”