At his campaign launch Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams had some tough words about the man coming for his job, presumptive Democratic challenger Zohran Mamdani. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff caught up with Mamdani to get his reaction to what his critics have been saying since his surprising primary performance.

Z ohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, pointedly explained why he thinks President Donald Trump has levied attacks on his citizenship and threatened to arrest him in recent days. Trump simply needs a distraction, Mamdani argued in a press conference with New York City labor leaders on Wednesday.