President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met in the White House on Friday, taking questions from the press and saying that they look forward to working together.
“We’ve just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “We have one thing in common, we want this city of ours that we love to do very well.”
The meeting Friday was a high-stakes one for Mamdani, his first in-person interaction with the president after the two criticized one another for months.
The meeting, which was closely watched by the media, turned out to be rather warm and friendly, with Trump laughing, shaking the mayor-elect’s hand multiple times and even admitting he once wanted to be New York City’s mayor.
The two leaders shared that while they clearly have their differences, they’ve also found agreement. Mamdani highlighted their shared New York roots and said that many of the people who voted for him also voted for Trump in 2024 due to affordability and the cost of living.
“We spoke about rent, we spoke about groceries, we spoke about utilities, we spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out,” Mamdani said. “And I appreciated the time with the president. I appreciated the conversation. I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers.”
Mamdani, a self-declared democratic socialist, won the city’s mayoral race earlier this month and will make history on Jan. 1 as one of New York City’s youngest mayors and its first Muslim mayor.
He and the president traded barbs from afar throughout the campaign and after Mamdani’s victory. Mamdani called Trump a fascist, and addressed the president during his victory speech, telling him to “turn the volume up.”
Trump on Wednesday confirmed that Mamdani’s transition team reached out to secure a meeting, calling him a “Communist Mayor.”
The president, ahead of Election Day, threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City if Mamdani won the race, calling him an extremist. In a last-minute move, Trump endorsed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and the president urged voters to cast their ballots for him, as Cuomo appeared to have a better shot at beating Mamdani than the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa.
Trump did not make note of his previous threat to withhold federal funding on Friday.
Mamdani was asked by the press multiple times about his previous criticism of the president, and the mayor-elect dodged. Both Mamdani and Trump focused on their shared values rather than the areas where they disagree.
“I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views, and what I really appreciate about the president is the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, (but) focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.
Trump joked that he’s been called things worse than what Mamdani has had to say and later said it was OK for Mamdani to say he’s a fascist.
While they may have different views on how to accomplish bringing down the cost of living and enforcing safety in the city, the leaders agreed they are top priorities for them both.
“We had some interesting conversation and some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have,” the president said.
Trump was asked if he would be comfortable living in New York City under a Mamdani leadership, to which the president replied that he would “absolutely” be comfortable with that idea, “especially after the meeting.”
“I want New York City to be great. Look, I love New York City. It’s where I come from. I spent a lot of years there,” Trump said. “I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great.”
“We agree a lot more than I would have thought. … I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help them do a great job,” he added.