New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump, who have strongly criticized each other from afar, met for the first time in the Oval Office Friday afternoon. The meeting lasted a little more than an hour and concluded with a press conference with reporters, where both men appeared friendly.
Both Trump and Mamdani said the meeting was positive, with the president going as far as to say the two have similar ideas. Before the meeting, Trump said the meeting would be “civil” despite the two previously trading insults.
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What did the leaders discuss?
The meeting happened behind closed doors but the White House invited reporters inside to ask questions following their meeting.
The president praised Mamdani’s campaign and said he wants the mayor-elect to do good.
“The better he does, the happier I am,” Trump said.
Mamdani called the meeting “productive” and said they focused on making New York City more affordable for the millions of people who live there.
“I appreciated the meeting with the president, as he said, it was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, New York City,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani said they focused on rent, grocery prices and power costs. Trump said those are issues that both of them agree need ot be fixed.
“We talked about some things in very strong common, like housing and getting housing built, and food prices. The price of oil is coming way down,” the president said.
Despite previously criticizing Mamdani’s plans for the city, when asked if he would feel comfortable living in New York City under Mamdani, he said he would.
“I would feel very, very comfortable being in New York,” Trump said. “I really would — especially after the meeting, absolutely.”
During one exchange, a reporter asked Mamdani if he still believed Trump was a fascist. While Mamdani was answering the question, Trump interrupted, saying, “That’s okay, he can say that.” The reporter was referencing Mamdani’s victory speech where he vowed to “reject Donald Trump’s fascism.”
On topics they disagreed on, like federal agents in New York City and immigration crackdowns, Trump said they will work out their differences and that both just want criminals out of the city.
“So we’re going to work together. We’re going to make sure that if there are horrible people there, we want to get them out,” Trump said. “I think he wants to get them out maybe more than I do.”
Mamdani said that while they do have differences, they used the meeting to see what they had in common rather than what they didn’t.
“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,” Mamdani said.
What happened ahead of the meeting?
During a radio interview Friday morning, Trump praised the self-described democratic socialist’s campaign.
“He’s got a different philosophy,” Trump said. “He’s a little bit different. I give a lot of credit for the run. He did a successful run, and we all know that runs are not easy, but I think we’ll get along fine.”
He said that the two could find common ground.
“We’re looking for the same thing,” Trump said. “We want to make New York strong. And, you know, there’s such a different philosophy.”
Mamdani has said he will approach the meeting with New York City at the forefront, promising to “stand up for New Yorkers every single day.”
“For me, it’s not about myself, it’s not about a relationship with an individual,” he said. “It’s about a relationship between New York City and the White House.”
Mamdani also said his campaign promise to address affordability will influence what he focuses on with Trump.
“I view this meeting as an opportunity for me to make my case,” he said. “It behooves me to ensure that I leave no stone unturned in looking to make this city more affordable.”
Trump’s Oval Office meetings have not always ended well. In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left the White House early after a tense discussion with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, as reporters watched.
Before Friday’s meeting, Mamdani met with fellow progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., according to CNN. The two “very briefly” discussed the decision to meet with Trump, which Ocasio-Cortez described as the right move.
“I trust Mayor-elect Mamdani’s leadership, and this is the call that he’s made for the city,” she said.
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who represents New York City and did not endorse Mamdani, said he found the president’s continued insults of Mamdani unhelpful.
“I don’t think it’s very helpful for the president to continue to insult him before he meets him,” he said, “and I certainly hope the president goes into the meeting with an open mind.”
