After months of exchanging sharp attacks, U.S. President Donald Trump and New York City’s incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani surprised observers on Friday by sharing smiles, compliments, and pledges of cooperation during an unexpectedly warm meeting at the White House. The two leaders, who occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum, said they were ready to work together on crime, housing, and affordability issues affecting America’s largest city.
Trump, a 79-year-old Republican billionaire, and Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, have frequently clashed over immigration, federal law enforcement, and economic priorities. Yet their first in-person encounter appeared to reset the tone. Cameras captured Trump patting Mamdani on the arm as the mayor-elect stood beside the Resolute Desk—just weeks after the president had publicly mocked him as a communist and anti-Semitic extremist.
“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump told reporters as the press was ushered into the Oval Office following the private discussion. “We both want this city that we love to succeed.” The cordial exchange went far beyond Trump’s earlier prediction that the meeting would be merely “quite cordial,” with both men speaking openly about shared goals.
Mamdani echoed the sentiment, saying he appreciated the president’s willingness to focus on common priorities instead of ideological divisions. “There are many places where we disagree,” Mamdani said, “but we centered our conversation around our shared purpose: serving New Yorkers.”
The political backdrop is complex. Nationwide polling shows only 26 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the cost-of-living crisis. Meanwhile, Mamdani—recently swept into office on promises of rent freezes, free public buses, and expanded childcare—was part of a broad wave of Democratic victories earlier in the month. The contrast had set expectations for a tense meeting, yet Trump appeared genuinely encouraged by Mamdani’s support for increased housing development in the city, a topic the former New York real estate magnate has long championed.
Trump was also visibly pleased to learn that many New Yorkers who voted for him in the previous presidential election had also backed Mamdani. The mayor-elect said he had heard repeatedly from Trump voters that affordability and inflation were their top concerns. Trump agreed, noting, “Some of his ideas are the same ideas I have. The better he does, the happier I am.”
The meeting also offered a striking moment of reconciliation. In recent months, Trump had labeled Mamdani a “radical left lunatic” and suggested cutting federal funds to New York City if he won. Mamdani, for his part, had been a frequent critic of Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Yet both men laughed off their earlier insults when pressed by reporters. When Mamdani was asked whether he still considered Trump a fascist, Trump jokingly intervened: “You can just say yes—it’s easier than explaining it.”
Another unexpected moment came when Trump defended Mamdani—New York’s first Muslim mayor—from an Islamophobic insinuation during the press Q&A. Asked whether he believed he had “a jihadist” standing beside him, Trump immediately replied, “No, I don’t. I met with a man who’s a very rational person.”
The friendliness left political observers and lawmakers stunned. Some Republicans openly questioned the sudden camaraderie, while Democrats expressed disbelief online. “What the heck just happened?” wrote Representative Rashida Tlaib as clips of the meeting circulated widely.
Trump, who once urged New Yorkers not to elect Mamdani, even suggested he might consider moving back to the city he left for Florida after his first presidential term. Asked whether he would return under Mamdani’s leadership, Trump smiled and said, “Yeah, I would—especially after the meeting.”
The encounter signaled the possible start of an unusual partnership between two politicians who have built their careers by openly criticizing each other’s worldviews. While the meeting produced no new policy announcements, it introduced what appeared to be the beginning of a surprisingly amicable working relationship—one that could reshape political dynamics in New York and beyond.
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