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President Donald Trump sat down with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office Friday, marking the first time the socialist politician whom the administration has labeled a "communist" met with the MAGA chief.
The pair found unity during their meeting, with Trump telling the media the pair share the mission of a better New York City.
"We have one thing in common," Trump said Friday. "We want this city of ours that we love to do very well. And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He really ran an incredible race against, you know, a lot of smart people, starting with the early primaries against some very tough people, very smart people. And he beat them, and he beat them easily. And I congratulated him, and we talked about some things in very strong common, like housing and getting housing built and food and prices."
The president and mayor-elect met at the White House Friday afternoon before opening the Oval Office doors to the media for questions. Trump predicted New York City, his hometown, will get a "great mayor" while remarking that the White House would be there to assist.
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"I think you're going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor and the better he does, the happier I am," Trump said. "I will say there's no difference in party, there's no difference in anything. And we're going to be helping him, to make everybody's dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York."
Ahead of the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Mamdani a "communist" while remarking that Trump's doors are open to any U.S. leader no matter their political party.
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Trump remained seated during his press event, while Mamdani stood by his side and fielded a handful of questions. The pair shared a hopeful outlook for the future, with Trump arguing that, despite their political differences, they will work together and also share a handful of priorities, namely affordability and lowering the cost of living for Americans.
"He's got views that (are) a little out there, but who knows? And then we'll get to see what works, or he's going to change also. We all change," Trump said. "I changed a lot. Changed a lot from when I first came to office, it's now quite a while ago, quite a while. My first term was great. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. We're doing even better now. We're doing much better now than we did even in the first term. And I can tell you, some of my views have changed."
The president predicted Mamdani "is going to surprise some conservative people, actually, and some very liberal people."
The mayor-elect added that he was appreciative of the meeting and said it largely focused on how to better New York City and pull citizens out of spiraling costs.
"I think both President Trump and I - we are very clear about our positions and our views," Mamdani said. "And what I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers.
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"And, frankly, that is something that could transform the lives of the 8.5 million people who are currently struggling under a cost-of-living crisis, with one in four living in poverty," he said. "And the meeting came back again and again to what it could look like to lift those New Yorkers out of struggle and start to deliver them a city that they could do more than just struggle to afford it, but actually start to live in it."
Trump quipped during the press event that the media showed an outpouring of interest in the meeting, remarking that despite hosting many high-profile events with foreign nations, his meeting with the next chief of New York City drew "hundreds of people waiting" outside as just a small gaggle of reporters could file into the Oval Office.
Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich pressed Mamdani at one point on his past remarks describing Trump as a "fascist," and the president jumped in to tell him it's easier to "just say yes."
"Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?" Heinrich asked.
" I've spoken about …" Mamdani began to answer before Trump said, "That's OK. You can just say yes."
"OK, all right," Mamdani continued.
"It's easier. It's … it's easier than explaining it. I don't mind," Trump added.
Trump praised Mamdani as a "rational person" who has the trajectory of making New York City safe and bringing down costs.
"I met with a man who wants to … really wants to see New York be great again," Trump said. "And I can say again because New York was great, you know, when I came down to Washington initially. The city was so hot and was doing great. We were having some telltale signs of problems. We had a mayor that was not doing a great job, but still it was moving along. And it went bad. It really went, you know, pretty bad. And he can, I think it's been at lower points, but it went pretty bad."
Mamdani, who has been accused of holding antisemitic views, wrapped up the press event by pledging he would work to secure a safe New York City for its large Jewish population.
"I care very deeply about Jewish safety, and I look forward to rooting out antisemitism across the five boroughs and protecting Jewish New Yorkers," he said.
Mamdani won his election Nov. 4 while squaring off against Republican challenger Curtis Sliwa and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing his Democratic primary election to Mamdani over the summer.
Mamdani will be sworn in as the Big Apple's mayor Jan. 1.
