Trump makes peace with Mamdani: "He'll have a truly fantastic mayor"
For now, the socialist has won over the president, who has promised to help him "make everyone's dream come true."
Washington"I'll be ready for whatever happens," Zohran Mamdani said the day before his face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump. But the result wasn't a chorus of boos from the Republican—as many feared—but rather a cordial encounter full of praise for the socialist. Trump, who had labeled him a "lunatic communist," now admitted to being "thrilled" by someone like him: "We had a great meeting." The president appeared alongside Mamdani this Friday in the Oval Office. He was seated at the table, and the mayor stood beside him. Two have focused their speeches on the cost of living in New York, more than their political differences.
"I think he can do a good job. I think it will be a surprise to some conservatives," Trump said, in words that don't seem to come from the same mouth that just days ago portrayed Mamdani as an existential threat to the city. "I think he will have, hopefully, a really fantastic mayor," the president assured, promising to help Mamdani "make everyone's dream come true." Less than three weeks ago, Trump threatened to send the National Guard to New York if Mamdani won and also warned of cutting off federal funding for city programs.
"He surprised me: he doesn't want to see crime, he wants to see more houses built, he wants to see rents go down. These are old things that I now agree with. Maybe we don't agree on how to achieve it, but lower rents is, I think, one of the things I've really learned a lot about today," he said. It seems that Mamdani's charismatic smile is, for the moment, unbeatable. For the Democrat, the visit to the White House could have been like walking into the lion's den. The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was a test of his ability to deal with Trump and his ego.
If at the time the Republican He recognized Mamdani as a rival, but that's because he also saw an equal.He recognized a politician who, despite being ideological opposites, has charisma and knows how to mobilize voters. In 2024, Trump returned to the White House against all odds after instigating the storming of the Capitol and becoming the first convicted presidential candidate. In 2025, Mamdani became mayor of the world's financial capital despite being a socialist and an unknown. Their energies are very different, but they're in the same league. That's why the Democrat knew how to connect with the president. It also helped that, from the outset, Trump already respected him to some extent.
Mamdani has also been positive and conciliatory with Trump. When a journalist asked the 34-year-old mayor about his promise to be a "nightmare" because of the Republican's "fascist agenda," Trump intervened before he could even answer. "This is fine. Just say yes. It's easier that way, easier than explaining," Trump told Mamdani, patting him on the arm and excusing him from the press. Even so, the socialist decided to explain himself and answered the question: "I think both President Trump and I are very clear about our positions and points of view, and what I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting focused not only on the points of disagreement, of which there are many, but also on our shared goal of serving." Any other politician would probably pay a high price for having such a good rapport with Trump, but in Mamdani's case, knowing how to handle the Republican will most likely be well received by the base.
Conciliation as diplomacy
One of the keys to Mamdani's victory in the last election was that after winning the Democratic primaries, he dedicated himself to meeting with all those who attacked or rejected him. The US president is aware that Mamdani's overwhelming success has become a double-edged sword within the Democratic Party on the eve of the new election year. It restored hope to voters, but it also crystallized internal divisions. Hours before the socialist landed in Washington, the House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the "horrors of socialism" with 86 votes in favor from the Democratic caucus. From the moment Mamdani burst onto the scene in the party primaries, Trump identified him as a potential rival. With his attacks against Mamdani from the Oval Office, Trump contributed to the charismatic politician's meteoric rise.
In his victory speech, after sweeping an election with a record-breaking turnout that surpassed the figures for the 2021 mayoral electionsThe Democrat addressed Trump directly: "So listen to me, President Trump, when I say this: to get to any one of us, you'll have to go through all of us," Mamdani said defiantly. Two weeks after these words, both Mamdani and Trump seem to have toned down their belligerence.
In an interview on Fox News this morning, Trump praised Mamdani and said he had run "a good campaign"—the Republican even endorsed the socialist's rival, former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo—and said he believes they will get along. On Thursday, Mamdani tried to downplay the tension and called the meeting routine. The socialist focused on saying that both he and Trump shared the same goal: making life more affordable. "I know that, for tens of thousands of New Yorkers, this meeting is between two very different candidates who voted for the same reason," Mamdani said at a press conference. "They wanted a leader who would tackle the cost-of-living crisis that makes it impossible for working people to afford to live in the city."
