During his State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump took a dig at New York City’s newly-elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s ID requirement policy for an emergency snow shoveler program as the city grappled with the cold ravages of the winter storm.

On February 24 (US time), the POTUS delivered the first State of the Union speech of his second term. Beginning at 9 pm ET, the address was mostly centred around celebrating the first year of the Trump admin 2.0.

What Trump said about Mamdani

“Even the new Communist mayor of New York City — I think he’s a nice guy actually. I speak to him a lot,” Trump said during the SOTU speech.

While Mamdani has projected himself as a Democratic Socialist since 2020, Trump and other Republicans have attacked the political label, claiming the NYC mayor to be a communist since before his historic victory in the 2025 New York City mayoral elections.

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“Bad policy.. Just said they want people to shovel snow. They got hit hard, he continued. “If you apply for that job, you need to show two original forms of ID and a Social Security card.”

Mamdani takes the flak for NYC ID rule

The MAGA leader’s swipe at the Big Apple leader on Tuesday (US time) added to the massive backlash Mamdani got hit by over the issue this week. Just days ago, House Republicans blasted the Indian-origin, Uganda-born politician, writing on X, “Let’s get this straight: in Zohran Mamdani’s socialist utopia, it takes 2 forms of ID to SHOVEL SNOW, but no ID to vote.”

ID to shovel snow vs ID to vote: Save America Act in focus

The “ID to vote” reference here alluded to the US House of Representatives recently passing the legislation called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act, which would require people to provide proof of US citizenship when registering to vote.

Ahead of the midterm elections in the US, Republicans firmly believe the legislation is necessary to prevent voter fraud. On the contrary, Democrats say it would disenfranchise certain eligible voters.

Although proving one’s American citizenship for voter registration sounds like a practical demand, the Opposition believes it would end up preventing millions of eligible voters who don’t have direct access to the documents required in the bill.

Democrats’ argument is based off the claims that the SAVE America Act seeks to solve a problem that doesn’t exist in the first place, as it’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.

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‘Emergency snow shovelers’ hiring in New York City

As NYC got hit by the potentially historic blizzard, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani shut down city school and city streets to all non-essential travellers from Feb 22 night to Feb 23 noon (US time) while bracing for up to 18 inches of snow.

At the same, he turned to city residents, urging them to lend a hand during the snowstorm, proposing an emergency snow shoveler program. Registration for the same required citizens to hand over their Social Security card and two original forms of ID, plus their copies.

During a media conference on Feb 22, Mamdani hailed the initiative as a longstanding program that would allow NYers to get paid during an emergency. He further asserted that law demands employers to check IDs to pay employees.

Defending the ID requirement mandate, he said, “We are not allowed to just cut checks to individuals for their work… These are the policies that we’ve had in place, but I understand that for many this is the first time they’ve heard about it.”