Updated November 21, 2025 at 5:23 PM EST
In a highly anticipated face-to-face meeting, President Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani described their first in-person conversation as cordial and productive, a striking shift in tone after months of both leaders slinging political attacks at one another.
The White House sit-down on Friday marked a stark contrast for the two leaders. Trump has repeatedly sought to paint Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, as too extreme for the city that he long called home. In the president's announcement of the meeting on Truth Social, Trump called Mamdani a "communist."
However, speaking to reporters after the meeting, that antipathy was nowhere to be found. Trump praised Mamdani's campaign and pledged to work with him on shared policy concerns centered on the cost of living and reducing crime.
"I met with a man who's a very rational person. I met with a man who wants to see — really wants to see — New York be great again," Trump said from the Oval Office. "I'll be cheering for him."
Mamdani had previously called Trump a "despot," but standing to his side on Friday he echoed the president's interest in cooperating around shared goals.
"I enjoyed our conversation and I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers," he said.
Trump entered the meeting having made no secret of his opposition to Mamdani, following his upset win in June's Democratic primary. During the campaign, Trump said he would arrest Mamdani if he disrupted ICE operations in New York and threatened to pull the city's federal funding were Mamdani to win.
However on Friday, Trump rose to Mamdani's defense on multiple occasions while speaking to reporters, declining to agree with conservative attacks calling Mamdani a "jihadist," and saying he would feel comfortable living in New York City under a Mamdani administration.
"We agree on a lot more than I would have thought," Trump explained. "I want him to do a great job, and we'll help him do a great job."
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