Trump Welcomes NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani to the White House
President Trump heaped praise on Zohran Mamdani, New York City's democratic socialist mayor-elect, during a White House visit this week. “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump said, a stark reversal from previously calling Mamdani a “lunatic” and a “communist.”
The president said his meeting with Mamdami changed his mind, and that he believes conservatives will be surprised as well. “We agree on a lot more than I thought we would.” Mamdani has already moved to keep Jessica Tisch as police commissioner, and reiterated that he is not cutting the police force. Tisch is known for a tough-on-crime stance, advocating for policies such as increased police staffing and pushing back against criminal justice reforms.
The Oval Office meeting produced several memorable moments: Trump defended Mamdani from critics who’d called him a “jihadist,” slapped him on the arm and said he didn’t need to walk back having called the president a fascist, and said he'd feel comfortable living in NYC with Mamdani as mayor. When a reporter brought up Mamdani calling Trump a “despot” on election night, Trump shrugged it off: “I've been called much worse than a despot, so it's not that insulting.” Trump closed by saying Mamdani has a chance to “Make New York City Great Again.”
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