1 of 5 | President Donald Trump and New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said they had a productive meeting at the Oval Office at the White House on Friday. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, from different political spectrums, found common ground while meeting at the White House on Friday afternoon.
Trump and Mamdani met for a half hour in the Oval Office before fielding questions from reporters for another 30 minutes, during which the president said that they have more shared priorities than expected, including cost of living, housing and crime.
“I met with a man who’s a very rational person,” Trump said from his desk as Mandani stood next to him.
“I met with a man who really wants to see New York be great again,” he added. “I’ll really be cheering for him.”
Trump, whose legal residence now is in Palm Beach, Fla., said he would feel “very, very comfortable being in New York” with Mamdani as mayor.
The president said he “OK” with some New Yorkers voting for both of them.
Mamdani said his motivation for meeting with the president is to “leave no stone unturned” in his effort to make New York City more affordable for its residents.
“I have many disagreements with the president,” Mamdani said, but called it his “opportunity to make my case.”
“We should be relentless and pursue all avenues and all meetings that can make our city affordable for every single New Yorker,” Mamdani added.
“I expect to be helping him, not hurting him,” Trump said when asked about cutting federal funding as he has previously mentioned.
Trump said he is fine with Mamdani referring to him as a fascist.
Mamdani affirmed he is a democratic socialist when asked by a reporter while in the Oval Office though Trump previously called him a “communist,” CNN reported.
The president said the meeting between the two was “really good, very productive” and that they both “want this city of ours that we both love to do very well.”
Trump was born and raised in New York City, and said he and Mamdani talked about making housing more accessible and lowering food prices.
“I think you’re going to have a really great mayor,” Trump said of Mamdani. “The better he does, the happier I am.”
Mamdani is likely to “surprise some conservative people” and “some very liberal people,” he added.
The mayor-elect likewise said the meeting between the two was productive.
“We spoke about rent. We spoke about groceries, [and] we spoke about utilities,” Mamdani told reporters. “We spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out.”
He said he “appreciated the time with the president” and “I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers.”
Mamdani is scheduled to be sworn in as New York City’s mayor shortly after midnight on Jan. 1.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump meets with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on Friday. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
