New York City Mayor-elect Mamdani will meet Trump at the White House on Friday for talks

New York City Mayor-elect Zahran Mamdani is preparing to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, fulfilling a promise he made to voters during his election night victory speech that he would work with anyone if it was beneficial to his voters.

While the president harshly criticized Mamdani, he said Sunday he wanted to see “everything goes well for New York” as the two leaders focus on a key issue for Americans: affordability.

Mamdani, who ran on policies that included freezing rents and running the city’s grocery stores to lower food prices, vowed to use his face-to-face meeting with Trump to make “an argument for New Yorkers” struggling to pay the $2.90 bus fare.

As a result, Mamdani said he initiated the meeting with Trump “because I will work with anyone to make life more affordable for the more than 8.5 million people who call the city home.”

Zahran Mamdani reveals what he plans to discuss with President Trump in the Oval Office meeting

“I have many disagreements with the president, and I think we have to be tough and pursue all the avenues and all the meetings that can make our city accessible to every New Yorker,” Mamdani said at a press conference on Thursday. “I intend to make clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers. If the agenda hurts New Yorkers, I will also be the first to say something.”

Mamdani specifically pointed to poverty rates across the city. In February, Columbia University and the anti-poverty group Robin Hood released a report that found that 25 percent of New York City’s population — more than 2 million people — live in poverty.

“I have to bring it up to President Trump in the White House, as to what it means to have an affordability crisis, and what it means to make it more difficult to do that,” Mamdani said.

Trump tells Mamdani meeting in the works: ‘We’ll work on something’

Additionally, Mamdani said he plans to address public safety and economic security with Trump as well.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding what the president would like to discuss with the mayor-elect.

However, Trump told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade that they both want to “make New York strong,” and admitted that he was a bit tough on Mamdani during the election. He also expected the meeting to be “fully civilized.”

Likewise, White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said it indicated Trump’s interest in “doing what’s right” for the American people — regardless of political parties.

“It speaks volumes that tomorrow a communist will come to the White House, because this is the one the Democratic Party elected as mayor of the largest city in the country,” Leavitt told reporters Thursday. “I think that’s very telling. But I also think it speaks to the fact that President Trump is willing to meet with anyone, talk to anyone, and try to do what’s right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states.”

Although Trump has routinely called Mamdani a “communist,” Mamdani has denied this, saying instead that he is a democratic socialist.

Meanwhile, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital on Thursday that despite Trump and Mamdani’s differences, they are both New Yorkers, and that increases the odds of a better outcome after face-to-face talks.

“I think he (Trump) may want to make it clear that the federal government will in no way support the implementation of a socialist or communist agenda in New York City. I’m going to look for it.”

Additionally, Malliotakis said the two may have common ground when it comes to affordability, and pointed to Trump’s efforts to direct pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, or face consequences from the federal government.

““I think what President Trump is doing to lower prescription drug (costs) should be something the mayor-elect can embrace… They both have a vested interest in affordability. However, Mamdani’s policies are simply not working,” Malliotakis said.

Mamdani speaks directly to Trump, stops giving him credit for Middle East peace deal

Affordability and the economy were top priorities for voters in the 2025 election, which included Mamdani’s race, as well as several other key gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, which Democrats ultimately won.

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Fox News Voter Poll data found that New York City voters ranked affordability as their top concerns, and New Jersey voters reported the state’s high taxes and the economy as their top two issues. Additionally, polling data found that half of Virginia voters said the economy was their top priority.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.