Trump and Mamdani form an unexpected alliance at the White House meeting Donald Trump
Donald Trump and Zahran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, walked away from their meeting Friday afternoon with an unlikely alliance, agreeing to work together on housing, food prices and cost-of-living concerns that have defined their political appeal to working-class voters.
“We agreed a lot more than I thought,” Trump said in the Oval Office, sometimes intervening to protect Mamdani from aggressive questioning by the press.
Instead, the sit-in — which many expected to be controversial, given months of intense rhetoric in which Trump called Mamdani a “communist lunatic” — led to camaraderie, warm words and concrete pledges of cooperation between the Republican president and the self-described democratic socialist who earlier in early November had won a landslide election victory with more than 50 percent of the vote.
“I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump told the press after the meeting, praising his ideological opposite. “The better he does, the happier I am. I will say there’s no difference in the party. There’s no difference in anything, and we’re going to help him realize everyone’s dream, of a very strong and safe New York.”
He congratulated President Mamdani on his mayoral win, calling it an “incredible race against smart people” – and the two politicians shook hands.
Trump added that he already saw signs that the young politician might surprise conservative and liberal observers alike.
For Mamdani, the meeting was a vindication of his strategy of focusing the debate on economic issues rather than ideological divisions. He described the meeting as “productive” and “focused on the place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City.”
“We talked about rent, we talked about groceries, we talked about utilities, we talked about the different ways people are being evicted,” Mamdani told reporters after leaving the Oval Office.
“We had some interesting conversations, and some of his ideas are actually the same ideas I have,” Trump added. He pointed to their agreement to reduce crime and build housing.
The meeting marked the first direct discussion between the hardline Republican president and the defiant Democratic Socialist.
For Mamdani, who was a left-wing member of the state Assembly until his surprise primary victory, the sit-in was an early test of his ability to negotiate with a president who controls the vast federal resources on which the city depends. Mamdani’s team made the first move in reaching out for a meeting, all while Trump had previously threatened to withhold federal funding from New York if Mamdani took office, though he has since suggested a more conciliatory stance. He told Fox News: “I’m very torn, because I would like to see the new mayor do well, because I love New York.”
The administration used multiple pressure methods before the meeting. Immigration and customs officials The plans indicated To escalate operations in New York City, while a number of right-wing Republicans in Congress proposed investigating whether Mamdani’s citizenship is valid, despite his naturalization in 2018 after immigrating from Uganda as a child.
Mamdani’s team spent Thursday preparing for the showdown with calls with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and civil rights leader Al Sharpton to strategize the approach. Him too Talk to Robert Wolf, former CEO of UBS Americas and known ally of Barack Obama.
When asked Thursday whether he feared receiving hostile treatment similar to the controversial Oval Office meeting between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, earlier this year — in which Trump accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War III” — Mamdani brushed off concerns. “I will stand up for New Yorkers every day,” he replied.
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The incoming mayor framed the meeting as an opportunity to advance his central campaign platform: making New York accessible to everyone. His promises include free public buses, government-run grocery stores, a rent freeze on more than 1 million stabled units, and the city’s first comprehensive child care program.
“I view this meeting as an opportunity for me to present my case,” Mamdani said on Thursday. “I have to make sure that I leave no stone unturned in the quest to make this city accessible to everyone.”
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt similarly said that Trump’s willingness to meet was evidence of his openness to dialogue across political divides.
“President Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and try to do what is right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states, red states or blue cities,” Leavitt said.
But the underlying tensions were not hidden. Trump got directly involved in the mayoral race, dismissing his party’s nominee, Curtis Sliwa, as a lightweight, and instead endorsing independent Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic governor, while calling Mamdani a “little communist.” The Trump administration also snatched up federal aid for critical infrastructure projects — including the Gateway Tunnel between New York and New Jersey and the Second Avenue subway line — during budget negotiations.
Among voters in New York, Trump received only 27% approval compared to 70% opposition CNN polls From municipal elections. However, 10% of Trump voters in the 2024 election also cast their ballots for Mamdani, suggesting that there is indeed overlap in their economic populist messages, despite their vast ideological differences.