President Donald Trump said he and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani had a “great” conversation on Friday, after a highly anticipated first meeting between the two men at the White House.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office afterward, Trump heaped praise on the 34-year-old democratic socialist, saying he would help Mamdani.
“We’ve just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting,” Trump said. “We have one thing in common, we want this city of ours that we love to do very well.”
“The better he does, the happier I am. There is no difference in party,” added Trump, who often ruthlessly criticizes Democrats.
Trump also lauded Mamdani’s campaign, saying he “ran an incredible race against very smart people.”
The mayor-elect was less complimentary of Trump and repeatedly returned to the issue of affordability when asked about the meeting. “I know there might be differences about ideology, but the place of agreement is the work that needs to be done to make New York City affordable,” Mamdani said.
Trump had announced that he would meet Mamdani — whom he once called a “100% Communist Lunatic” — in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. Both men have leveled harsh criticism at each other, but Trump appeared to dismiss Mamdani’s past comments when asked on Friday.
“I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting,” Trump said.








