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In a remarkable display of political detente, President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met face-to-face at the White House on Friday, setting aside months of bitter campaign-trail attacks to discuss affordability, crime and the future of the nation’s largest city.
Trump, who had spent months warning voters against electing Mamdani — at one point calling him a “communist lunatic” — praised the self-described democratic socialist as “very rational” after their private Oval Office session.
“I met with a man who’s a very rational person,” Trump told reporters. “He really wants to see New York be great again. I’ll really be cheering for him.”
Standing beside the president, Mamdani called the conversation “productive” and said the two focused on their shared commitment to lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers. “We spoke about rent, we spoke about groceries, we spoke about utilities,” he said. “I look forward to working together to deliver affordability for New Yorkers.”
Asked whether he would feel comfortable living in the city under Mamdani’s leadership, Trump responded: “Yeah, I would, especially after the meeting. Absolutely. We agree on a lot more than I would’ve thought.”
A striking shift after a bruising campaign
The cordial tone represented a dramatic shift from the rhetoric both men used just weeks earlier. Mamdani had called Trump a “despot” during the mayoral race, and Trump had threatened to withhold federal funding from New York if Mamdani won.
On Friday, Trump softened that threat. “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said. “He wants to see no crime. He wants to see housing being built. He wants to see rents coming down. All things that I agree with. Now, we may disagree how we get there.”
Mamdani, meanwhile, emphasized that both men had been “very clear about our positions and our views,” but said the meeting focused not on disagreements but on “shared purpose.”
Trump brushed off Mamdani’s earlier criticisms. “I’ve been called much worse than a despot,” he joked. “It’s not that insulting.”
A political pairing watched nationwide
The meeting comes as both the progressive left and the MAGA right seek to elevate Mamdani’s national profile, each seeing him as a potentially potent figure in future political battles.
Mamdani, who defeated independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, won support from an unexpectedly large slice of Trump’s base. Exit polls showed that 10% of Trump voters in last year’s presidential election backed Mamdani on Nov. 4. “One in 10, and I’m OK with that,” Trump said Friday.
The two men even bonded over a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt hanging in the Cabinet Room — a symbol of the New Deal-era policies Mamdani said he hopes to echo through affordability initiatives in modern-day New York.
Policy disagreements remain
Despite the warm optics, key differences remain. Mamdani has criticized Trump’s immigration enforcement policies and warned he would fight any federal actions that “hurt New Yorkers,” including funding cuts or escalated ICE operations. But both said crime and housing dominated their meeting.
Trump praised Mamdani for planning to build more housing and for keeping Jessica Tisch as police commissioner. “I expect to be helping him, not hurting him,” Trump said. “I want New York City to be great.”
Mamdani said his focus would remain firmly on affordability. “My issue is not with people speaking with the president,” he said. “My issue is what they speak about.”
As the two men shook hands in the Oval Office, Trump summed up the moment: “We had a meeting today that actually surprised me.”
