After months of threats and harsh backlash, Donald Trump extended his hand to Zohran Mamdani and welcomed New York’s mayor-elect to the White House. “I am very confident that we can do a good job”, said the American president, assuring that “we will help him realize everyone’s dream: to have a strong and safe New York”. “His victory was a great success and we all know that elections are not easy, he defeated very intelligent people”, admitted the tycoon who, beyond public attacks, recognized the talent of the 34-year-old socialist and defined him as a very “rational” person. The name “communist” has also disappeared from the vocabulary in recent hours. Indeed, Trump said he was confident they would get along. “Some of his ideas are the same as mine,” he explained, referring to the high cost of living and the need to build new homes in the Big Apple to lower rents. At the end of the meeting in the Oval Office, Mamdani called it “very productive” and “focused on the place we admire and love.” To prepare, the new mayor held lengthy talks with big names in the Democratic Party, from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate veteran Chuck Schumer. But by his side is a new generation of Dems: Elle Bisgaard-Church and Morris Katz, two key advisers, and spokesperson Dora Pekec, with an average age of under 30, like all of Zohran’s inner circle. Mamdani promised before the face-to-face meeting that he would speak clearly, and Trump repeated to New Yorkers that “you’re going to have a great mayor.” “This surprised me, and we agreed on more things than I thought,” he continued, saying he “would be comfortable living in Mamdani’s NYC, especially after their meeting.” From threatening to militarize metropolises and defund billions of dollars, the commander-in-chief has changed his tune by hosting newly elected mayors in the Oval Office, sending a signal that has important political weight, not only at the city level, considering that none of his predecessors, from Bill de Blasio to Eric Adams, were accepted by the occupant of the White House. Furthermore, beyond the fierce public attacks and support from independent Andrew Cuomo, it appears at the last minute that The Donald had privately described Mamdani as “talented, astute in character, and a fine orator.” “I know that for tens of thousands of New Yorkers, this meeting is between two very different candidates but they want only one thing: to address the crisis caused by a cost of living that makes it impossible for workers to live in the city,” stressed the Mayor.
Meanwhile, on the day of the historic meeting, House Republicans approved, with 285 votes in favor and 98 against, a resolution condemning the “horrors of socialism.” “This is a moral vote – said Florida Congresswoman Maria Salazar – against an ideology that has destroyed millions of families.”
