Mamdani and Trump: A very harmonious meeting

It was a very conciliatory meeting: After his first meeting with New York Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani at the White House, President Donald Trump was positively enthusiastic.

Trump wanted to congratulate the mayor. “He really ran an extraordinary campaign against a lot of smart people, starting in the primaries, against some very powerful, very smart people, and he beat them,” the president praised.

Mamdani – who stood with arms folded next to the sitting president in the Oval Office – explained that the discussions behind closed doors were primarily about the financial burden of daily life in New York.

Trump said of Mamdani:

Trump said he agreed with the 34-year-old on more things than he thought. He will support Mamdani to be a “great mayor.”

Trump repeatedly nodded in agreement as Mamdani spoke. He has previously described the left-wing Democrat as a “communist” several times and threatened to withdraw federal funding from New York if he is elected.

Political scientist Laura von Daniels explained on ZDF shortly after Mamdani’s election victory that Mamdani was openly running for mayor as an “avowed socialist candidate”. Mamdani appears to have “sparked something with Donald Trump.” “This clearly provoked him to have a strong opponent in his own hometown,” von Daniels said.

Mamdani also harshly attacked the US president during the election campaign and on the eve of his election victory. However, this no longer seems to be a problem for the president. When asked, the Republican politician joked that he had been called something much worse than a despot. “Maybe he will change his mind after we work together.”

Mamdani responded that their respective positions had been “explained very clearly” to each other. What he appreciated about Trump was that the meeting was not about “a multitude of differences of opinion” but rather about “a shared goal of serving New Yorkers.” “I really appreciate this conversation,” Mamdani said.

When the mayor-elect was asked if he would call Trump a fascist, he began to explain. But Trump interrupted her and said, patting Mamdani’s arm: “It’s OK. You just say yes. It’s easier than explaining it.”