Leftist New York Mayor-elect and Trump make friends in White House love-in

WASHINGTON,

Months of sniping were forgotten Friday when New York’s new leftist mayor, Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump exchanged smiles at a White House meeting, agreeing to put their dispute aside and work together on the city’s future.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old political insurgent who rose from obscurity to win City Hall earlier this month, had engaged Trump in a bruising war of words, comparing the Republican to “bad landlords... taking advantage of their tenants.”

When the self-described Democratic socialist met with the Republican leader, who has labelled the mayor-elect a “communist” and recommended the Ugandan-born New Yorker be deported, Washington watchers braced themselves for a clash.

However, the summit in the Oval Office was a shining example of decorum. Trump, 79, welcomed Mamdani’s historic election victory, saying he might do a “great job” and describing him as a “man who really wants to see New York be great again.”

“We’re going to be helping him to make everybody’s dream come true: having a strong and very safe New York,” added the president.

Mamdani praised the meeting as “very productive” and stated that the leaders “shared admiration and love” for America’s financial hub and largest metropolis.

By dinnertime, Trump had uploaded numerous photos of the White House meeting on his Truth Social platform, exclaiming, “It was a great honour meeting Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor of New York City!”

Some conservatives reacted negatively to the shift, with notable far-right activist Laura Loomer portraying the unexpected cordiality as a sign of political doom.

“The Democrats will have a landslide in the midterms after today,” she remarked on Twitter. “How will the GOP campaign ahead of 2026 if Mamdani and his policies are now considered rational?”

Both men are from New York City’s Queens neighbourhood and are masters of political theatre, but their methods are diametrically opposed, with Trump relying on bombast and grievance while Mamdani emphasises affordability and inclusivity.

Oval Office confrontations with the boisterous billionaire frequently turn into ambush theatre—a lesson learnt by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who received a public scolding from Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Political observers have warned Mamdani that he could face a Zelensky-like situation. For weeks, they had hurled barbs, with Trump vowing to make life tough for the young political newcomer.

• Political Lightning Strike -

However, Trump constantly expressed his support for Mamdani, even telling reporters it was “OK” for the younger politician to call him a “despot”.

“I’ve been labelled a lot worse than a dictator. that it’s not that offensive.” Maybe he’ll change his mind once we start working together,” a conciliatory Trump remarked, adding that he hoped Mamdani would be “a really great mayor.”

For his part, Mamdani stated that many New Yorkers supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election “because of that focus on the cost of living.”

“And I’m looking forward to working together to deliver on that affordability,” he told me.

It was a far cry from the insults the two had traded in the lead-up to the encounter.

Aside from ridiculing Mamdani’s South Asian name, Trump has threatened cuts to federal funds and perhaps National Guard deployments—a strategy he has employed against other Democratic towns.

Mamdani’s ascension has been nothing short of phenomenal. A year ago, he was virtually unknown. He stormed the political barricades with a campaign promising rent freezes, free buses, and city-run grocery shops, all while flooding social media with happy videos and dialled-up charisma.

He didn’t just win; he broke records, receiving more than one million votes, the first New York mayoral candidate to do so since 1969.

Nonetheless, the firebrand progressive poised to become New York’s first Muslim mayor has shown signs of moderation, assuaging centrists concerned about a radical shake-up.

He reappointed incumbent police commissioner Jessica Tisch, a steady hand popular among rank-and-file cops, and picked veteran administrator Dean Fuleihan as his first deputy mayor, indicating continuity amid his promised change.

Mamdani campaigned as part of the anti-Trump resistance, but he has since expressed a wish to collaborate with the president on the “national crisis of affordability”.