U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office alongside Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of New York City, that the two had “a great meeting.”
“A really good, a very productive meeting,” Trump said. “We have one thing in common. We want this city of ours, which we love, to do really well.”
Trump said of Mamdani, a socialist who has said that he would have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested in New York City, that “I met with a man who’s a very rational person.”
“I met with a man who really wants to see New York be great again,” he said. The president referred to the two having in common a “very strong” priority of building new housing.
“I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor,” Trump said. “The better he does, the happier I am.”
Mamdani also said that it was a “productive meeting.”
Asked by a New York Post reporter if he would stop Mamdani from having Netanyahu arrested in New York City, Trump said that the two didn’t discuss that.
In response to a question about referring to Mamdani as a communist, Trump said, “he’s got views that are a little out there, but who knows, we’re going to see what works. He’s going to change also. We all change. I changed a lot.”
“I feel very confident that he’s going to do a very good job,” Trump said. “I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”
Mamdani was asked about calling Trump a “fascist” and “despot” who betrayed the country, a few days beforehand, and saying he would be the president’s worst nightmare.
“I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views, and I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers,” he said.
“I’ve been called much worse than a ‘despot,’” Trump said.
When pressed in a follow-up question about whether he thought Trump was a fascist, Mamdani began to answer and began, “I’ve spoken about—,” before the president cut in. “That’s OK,” he said. “You can just say ‘yes.’”
“It’s easier than explaining it,” said Trump, laughing and patting Mamdani on the shoulder.
Trump also told reporters, “That’s another thing, I think, we have in common, we want to see peace in the Middle East.”
“He said a lot of my voters actually voted for him, and I’m OK with that,” Trump said.
In response to a question, Mamdani said, “I’ve spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide, and I’ve spoken about our government funding it.”
“I shared with the president in our meeting about the concern that many New Yorkers have of wanting their tax dollars to go towards the benefit of New Yorkers and their ability to afford basic dignity,” he added.
‘A bully’
“Don’t forget: President Trump relentlessly attacked Zohran Mamdani and did everything to stop his win. It’s funny how his tune changed when confronted with Mamdani’s actual focus on affordability—something Trump claims to care about,” stated Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). “Let this be a lesson: Always stand up to a bully.”
Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. Justice Department task force to combat Jew-hatred, stated that there was “excellent chemistry between President Trump and Mamdani.”
The press conference, which John Podhoretz, the Commentary magazine editor, called a “bromance with Mamdani,” also included a question from a reporter about whether Trump agreed with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who is running for governor, that Mamdani is a “jihadist.”
“No, I don’t,” Trump said. “She’s out there campaigning. You say things sometimes in a campaign. She’s a very capable person.”
Stefanik responded. “We all want New York City to succeed. But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one,” she stated.
“If he walks like a jihadist, if he talks like a jihadist, if he campaigns like a jihadist, if he supports jihadists, he’s a jihadist,” she stated. “And he’s Kathy Hochul’s jihadist.”
