Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met at the White House on Friday in a surprisingly cordial encounter, setting aside months of political hostility. While Trump called the mayor-elect a ‘rational person’, Mamdani appreciated their focus on “shared purpose”.
The meeting marked the first in-person encounter between the 79-year-old Republican and the 34-year-old democratic socialist, who had previously clashed over immigration, economic policy, and city governance.
During the Oval Office meeting, Trump and Mamdani discussed shared priorities such as crime reduction and affordability in New York City, home to 8.5 million residents. Trump, who had repeatedly criticised Mamdani during the mayoral campaign, including calling him a “radical left lunatic” and a “100 per cent Communist,” praised the mayor-elect and expressed optimism about their future working relationship.
“The better he does, the happier I am,” Trump said, according to Reuters. “We have one thing in common: we want this city of ours that we love to do very well”.
Mamdani, Uganda-born and set to become New York City’s first Muslim mayor, welcomed the focus on cooperation, Reuters reported. “What I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting we had focussed not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focussed on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers”.
The two leaders addressed some of the more contentious language exchanged in recent weeks. “I’ve been called much worse than a despot,” the president said, according to Reuters. “ “So it’s not that insulting… I think he’ll change his mind after we get to working together”.
Trump also defended Mamdani against Islamophobic slurs. When a reporter asked if he considered Mamdani a “jihadist,” Trump replied, according to Reuters: “No, I don’t. I met with a man who was a very rational person”.
Mamdani and Trump shared moments of levity during the meeting, laughing off the insults and controversies that had defined their public exchanges during the campaign.
The discussion centred on issues affecting ordinary New Yorkers, including housing affordability, grocery and utility costs, childcare, and public transport. Both leaders have talked about inflation as a pressing concern for voters, which played a central role in Mamdani’s campaign as well as in Trump’s 2024 election messaging.
“Some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have,” Trump said, referring to Mamdani’s approach to tackling the cost of living, reported PTI.
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The federal government provides New York City with $7.4 billion in funding for fiscal year 2026, accounting for roughly 6.4 per cent of the city’s total budget, reported Reuters. While Trump had previously threatened to withhold federal funds if Mamdani won the election, it remained unclear what legal authority he could claim to act on such threats.
Asked if he might consider moving back to New York City under Mamdani’s leadership, Trump replied, according to Reuters, “Yeah, I would, especially after the meeting”.
