Zohran Mamdani Recounts Visit With Donald Trump

By Peter Aitken

Politics Weekend Editor

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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Sunday divulged some details of his visit with President Donald Trump.

Many expected a tense and fractious meeting between the two New York natives, but instead they met the press with smiles and laughs, and Trump backing Mamdani to do "something great for New York."

Mamdani on Sunday further discussed that meeting during an appearance on Sunday's episode of the NBC program Meet The Press.

Why It Matters

Trump spent months attacking Mamdani after the New York state representative upset former Governor Andrew Cuomo and won the Democratic nomination for mayor. Cuomo went on to run as an independent, but still failed to defeat Mamdani—who won the election on November 4 with a clear majority.

The president variously called Mamdani a "communist lunatic" and "Jew hater," attacking his appearance, calling his policy plans "fake," and saying it would prove "hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York…Because if you have a communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there.”

But Trump appeared to completely reverse course after meeting Mamdani, instead showering the mayor-elect with glowing praise and fully endorsing him, saying he would feel comfortable living in Mamdani's New York.

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What To Know

NBC host Kristen Welker addressed the meeting when Mamdani spoke with her on Sunday, addressing perhaps the most shocking moment, which was when a reporter asked if Mamdani stands by his statement that the president is a fascist. The president jumped in at the time and said he was all right with Mamdani saying it as it was "easier than explaining" his view to reporters.

"After the president said that, I said 'Yes,'" Mamdani said Sunday, adding: "That's something that I've said in the past. I say it today. And I think what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that has brought us to this moment."

When asked about the president's surprising turn following their meeting, Mamdani said he had a "productive" meeting with Trump that "came back again and again to the central themes of the campaign that we ran: The cost of housing, cost of child care, cost of groceries, the cost of utilities, and I showed that this is an opportunity to now start to deliver."

He said that he had addressed "what is preventing from delivering on that affordability agenda," listing off reasons such as zoning regulations, the process of approvals, the need to address costs of labor or materials for construction, as well as stresses from rent, child care and utilities.

"The child care, I say twice, because it is the second highest cost after housing, $22,500 a year for a single child," Mamdani said.

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But Welker, as many did, focused on how "chummy" the two rivals appeared before reporters after months of trading barbs and threats—particularly with Mamdani stressing repeatedly throughout his campaign that he was the candidate who would stand up to Trump and defend Americans from him when Cuomo repeatedly accused him of being a weak candidate who would fold under the pressure of the federal government.

Mamdani explained during the Oval Office press gaggle that he had revealed to the president the many conversations he had with voters in New York City who had voted for Trump and their reasons for supporting him, and he reiterated that to Welker, saying that the focus had always been cost of living.

He stressed the need for a "productive relationship" with the president if he wants to achieve his goals, and part of that was highlighting the common ground between the two politicians and their shared goal of helping alleviate the struggles of everyday Americans.

"It was a conversation where we spoke about the need to deliver on this agenda. And I appreciated that when we had that meeting, it wasn't just in the Oval Office," Mamdani said. "He also took me into the Cabinet Room, and there we were looking at portraits of presidents of years gone by."

"We admired a portrait of FDR. and in many ways, when I think about the candidacy that we put forward, it looks to Fiorello LaGuardia as the greatest mayor in New York City history," Mamdani added. "You can't tell the story of LaGuardia without telling the story of FDR and the story of a relationship with the federal government that finally delivered at the scale of the crisis it was facing."

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump on Truth Social wrote: "It was a Great Honor meeting Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor of New York City!"

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani wrote on X: "Working people have been left behind in New York. In the wealthiest city in the world, one in five can't afford $2.90 for the train or bus. As I told Trump today—it’s time to put those people right back at the heart of our politics."