Trump, Mamdani Hold Surprisingly Warm White House Meeting

US President Donald Trump and incoming New York City (NYC) Mayor Zohran Mamdani smiled at each other, exchanged compliments, and promised to work together to address crime and affordability in the country’s largest city after months of insulting each other, at an unexpectedly cordial meeting at the White House on Friday.

However, a young Democratic socialist and a Republican billionaire are political rivals who have disagreed on everything from immigration to economic policy, but they both forged a rapport in their first encounter.

The 34-year-old state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani stood by Trump’s desk as the 79-year-old president smiled up at him and patted him warmly on the arm, having only recently falsely caricatured Mamdani as an anti-Semitic communist, among other jibes.

Trump stated after permitting journalists and cameras into the Oval Office at the end of a private encounter with the mayor-elect, “We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” adding, “We have one thing in common: we want this city of ours that we love to do very well.”

The meeting in the Oval Office, where Trump has sometimes embarrassed or chastised visiting heads of state, far exceeded Trump’s prediction previously on Friday that it would be quite cordial.

The two men, who were from opposite generations in New York, made no policy announcements other than what appeared to be the beginning of an unanticipated professional friendship that would change politics.

As Mamdani surged in the polls to victory on November 4, Trump issued threats to strip federal funding from New York City. Mamdani has regularly criticised Trump’s promise to ramp up federal immigration enforcement efforts in a city where four in 10 residents are foreign-born.

In the weeks before they met, Trump had labeled Mamdani a “radical left lunatic,” a communist and a “Jew hater”.

Mamdani has espoused Nordic-style democratic socialism, not communism.

While a staunch critic of Israel, he was endorsed by prominent Jewish politicians, is bringing Jewish staff into his new administration, notably New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and has repeatedly condemned anti-Semitism.

And yet, less than an hour after first meeting each other in person, Trump was repeatedly coming to Mamdani’s aid to fend off pointed questions from the press.

The pair laughed away some of their spicier insults as reporters reminded them of what they had said about each other.

“I’ve been called much worse than a despot,” Trump said with a smile. “So it’s not that insulting, but I think he’ll change his mind after we get to working together.”

Mamdani was asked if he still considered Trump a fascist. “That’s OK, you can just say ‘yes’,” Trump interjected, swapping grins with Mamdani and patting his arm twice. “It’s easier than explaining it.”