Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) got animated during an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday night over President Donald Trump's latest threat to withhold federal funding from New York City.

Sanders joined Collins to discuss the looming government shutdown. He expressed concern that the Trump administration could use the shutdown to continue advancing its authoritarian agenda, citing previous examples like firing workers that "they don't like" from the Veterans Administration and making significant cuts to Medicaid.

"I'll give you another example, as I'm sure you've heard of it," Sanders told Collins. "I think it was yesterday. Trump says, 'Well, if Mr. [Zohran] Mamdani becomes the mayor of New York City, then I'm going to cut funding from New York City.'"

"Great," he added. "You're going to cut funding from any city or state that you don't like. Great. Not only is that illegal, it's unconstitutional and it's outrageous! Everybody, every state, contributes to the federal budget, so you can't pick and choose who you want to fund."

Collins asked Sanders if he is concerned that he is handing Trump more power by voting against his continuing resolution to keep the government open.

"He's now telling us, with or without a shutdown, he may not fund New York City," Sanders said. "He may not fund Vermont. He doesn't like me, so he may cut funding for Vermont."