President Donald Trump on Friday praised incoming New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani after the two met for the first time at the White House to discuss the growing issue of affordability.
The Republican president and Democratic mayor-elect have hurled harsh attacks at each other in recent days, but they repeatedly ignored their words while appearing side by side in the Oval Office.
At one point, when Mamdani was asked a second question about calling Trump a “fascist,” the president defended him.
After Mamdani began to react, Trump said, “That’s fine, just say yes.” “It’s easier than explaining.”
President Trump also appeared to backtrack on an earlier threat to withhold federal funding for New York City if Mamdani became mayor.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” President Trump said.
Instead of rehashing their feud, they discussed areas of agreement on a wide range of issues, with a particular focus on reducing the cost of living.
But they also found common ground on more concrete issues, such as forcing New York-based energy giant Con Edison to lower prices.
“Fuel prices have gone down significantly, but it’s not reflected in Con Edison. We need to talk to Edison to start lowering prices,” Trump said.
“That’s right,” Mamdani added.
U.S. President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani speak with members of the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 21, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Both men exchanged some compliments, although Trump had more praise than Mamdani.
President Trump said, “If things go well, I think we’ll have a really great mayor.” “The better he does, the happier I will be.”
While Trump sat resolutely at his desk, Mamdani stood and said, “I thanked the president for the meeting.” “And as he said, it was a productive meeting that focused on New York City, a place of mutual admiration and love, and the need to provide affordability to New Yorkers.”
The conciliatory tone was brand new. Mamdani echoed the president on the campaign trail and in his victory speech, saying, “If anyone can teach the people betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it’s the city that produced him.”
And just two days earlier, Trump had called Mamdani “the communist mayor of New York City.” The mayor-elect is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist and denies being a communist.
The Oval Office meeting was requested by Mamdani, the 34-year-old who became the center of American politics with his stunning mayoral victory over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“We will work with anyone to make life more affordable for the more than 8.5 million people who call this city home,” Mamdani said Thursday.
Mr. Mamdani and other Democrats who won a series of elections this month maintained a relentless focus on affordability, even as they argued that prices were already significantly lower, a term Trump bristled at.
Meanwhile, the president’s approval ratings have fallen sharply in many polls, with respondents consistently citing the high cost of living as their main concern.
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