President Donald Trump will meet with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Friday, the first meeting between the political foils.
Trump has consistently attacked Mamdani, a socialist whom the president frequently calls a “communist,” since his campaign began picking up steam. The president additionally endorsed Mamdani’s chief opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, just one day before election night in early November, threatening to cut off funding to New York City if Mamdani won.
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Mamdani, in turn, has not pulled punches while discussing Trump, launching harsh critiques of his immigration and deportation policies, while claiming that the president’s economic agenda is negatively weighing on families.
But political operatives on both sides of the aisle told the Washington Examiner that they expected Friday’s meeting to be more civil than fiery.
Two veteran Democratic strategists said they expected Mamdani to employ a toned-down approach to “buttering up” Trump compared to the flattery heaped on the president by the dozens of world leaders who’ve met with him during his second term.
“I think that one thing that Zohran really demonstrated throughout the campaign is that, whether you agree with his politics or not, he cares deeply about this city,” one strategist explained. “Donald Trump might live in Florida now, but it’s pretty obvious that his heart lives in New York. I think there’s an opening there for connection.”
One longtime out-of-government adviser to the president predicted that Friday’s meeting would be “calm, respectful,” and yield “lots of progress.”
That person specifically doubted that Mamdani would “come out firing” against the president, suggesting “that would be the best case scenario for Trump.”
However, one other veteran Republican strategist told the Washington Examiner that Mamdani would be the aggressor on Friday, as “he’s been boxed in by the [Trump derangement syndrome-having] people who voted him into office.”
“He doesn’t have a choice,” that person said. “If he shows up and makes it clear that, despite the political differences, he wants to work with the White House to bring down prices and clean up New York’s streets, the libs are going to freak out.”
Officials with Mamdani’s office declined to comment for this story but pointed to the mayor-elect’s Thursday morning press conference, during which he claimed not to be “concerned” about sitting down with the president.
“It’s more critical than ever, given the national crisis of affordability, one that New Yorkers know very well across these five boroughs, and the specific challenge many cities are facing with balancing public safety against steps taken by this administration,” Mamdani told reporters. “I know that for tens of thousands of New Yorkers, this meeting is between two very different candidates who they voted for for the same reason — they wanted a leader who would take on the cost of living crisis that makes it impossible for working people to afford living in this city.”
Mamdani said he requested the meeting with Trump to show he “will work with anyone to make life more affordable for the more than 8 1/2 million people who call this city home.”
“I have many disagreements with the president, and I believe that we should be relentless and pursue all avenues and all meetings that can make our city affordable for every single New Yorker,” he continued. “I intend to make it clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers. If an agenda hurts New Yorkers, I will also be the first to say so.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt similarly declined to outline Trump’s goals for Friday’s meeting or say if there was anything Mamdani could do to stave off the threats about blocking federal funding to the city.
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“It speaks volumes that, tomorrow, we have a communist coming to the White House, because that’s who the Democrat Party elected as the mayor of the largest city in the country,” she told reporters, adding that “Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and to try to do what’s right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states or blue cities.”
“We’ll see how the meeting goes tomorrow,” Leavitt continued. “I’ll let the president speak for himself.”
