NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani reiterates Trump is ‘fascist’, days after cordial meeting
After months of trading barbs at each other during the campaign for mayoral polls, the two leaders were cordial during their meeting as President Trump told reporters that he’ll be “cheering” for Mamdani.
November 24, 2025 07:16 AM IST
First published on: Nov 24, 2025 at 07:16 AM IST
Comments
Print
Share
Whatsapp
twitter
Facebook
US President Donald Trump talks after meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House. (AP Photo)
New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has reiterated his views on Sunday when he said that he still believes US President Donald Trump is a “fascist” and a “despot” but added that he viewed his first meeting with the US president last week at the White House as an “opportunity” in order to work together to lower the cost of living for New Yorkers, NBC News reported.
Speaking to NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Mamdani, who had a cordial meeting with President Trump in Washington on Friday was asked if he still considers the Republican leader as a threat to democracy, to which the NYC mayor-elect responded, “Everything that I’ve said in the past I continue to believe. I think it is important in our politics that we don’t shy away from where we have disagreements.”
Zohran Mamdani says he still believes Trump is a "fascist" and a "threat to democracy" after his White House meeting. pic.twitter.com/0f30e3M9zM
After months of trading barbs at each other during the campaign for mayoral polls, the two leaders were cordial during their meeting as President Trump told reporters that he’ll be “cheering” for Mamdani and the mayor-elect told the reporters that their meeting was “productive”.
After their meeting, Mamdani was asked by reporters during a press interaction if he stood by his decision to call Trump a “fascist”, to which the president jokingly said, “That’s OK, you can just say it. It’s easier, it’s easier than explaining it.” In a turn of events, Trump had praised Mamdani and said, “I feel very confident that he can do a good job. I think he’s going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”
Mamdani was asked by NBC News if he still believes whether President Trump is “fascist”, to which the mayor-elect replied, “That’s something I’ve said in the past and I say 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.”
Share
US President Donald Trump talks after meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House. (AP Photo) 
