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Thursday, Nov 20, 2025
Outside the box.
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
President Donald Trump confirms a White House meeting with New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani after months of political hostility.
President Donald Trump announced that he will meet New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, at the White House on Friday, following a request from Mamdani’s team.
The meeting, confirmed by both sides, will be the first time the two political rivals sit together in the Oval Office.
Trump revealed the planned meeting in a brief post on his social platform, adding a jab at the incoming mayor by writing that “the communist asked to meet”.
Mamdani’s transition staff confirmed the request, saying the discussion would focus on public safety, economic security and a cost-of-living plan that received more than a million votes in New York’s recent election.
The confirmation comes three days after Trump acknowledged ongoing coordination between the two offices, telling reporters that efforts were underway to arrange the meeting.
“We’ll work something out.
We want everything to go well for New York,” he said.
The upcoming encounter follows a fiercely adversarial campaign.
Trump repeatedly attacked Mamdani, calling him “a communist” and “a hater of Jews,” and warned he might withhold federal funds from New York if Mamdani won.
Trump ultimately endorsed independent candidate Andrew Cuomo in what became a symbolic contest over the ideological direction of American urban politics.
Mamdani, for his part, built his campaign around open opposition to the White House.
In his victory speech, he framed his election as proof that Democrats could defeat Republican influence at every level.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that once lifted him to prominence.
In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light,” he said, arguing that the way to restrain a leader is to dismantle the conditions that allowed him to rise.
Both camps now signal a willingness—whether pragmatic or tactical—to engage.
For New York’s incoming mayor, the meeting offers a chance to demonstrate readiness for governance after a polarizing election.
For President Trump, it provides an opportunity to shape federal-city cooperation on security and affordability while managing relations with a mayor who openly challenged him.
Whether Friday’s meeting produces tangible policy coordination or remains a symbolic gesture will become clear only in the months ahead.
But the fact that it is happening at all marks a notable moment in a deeply divided political landscape.
The meeting, confirmed by both sides, will be the first time the two political rivals sit together in the Oval Office.
Trump revealed the planned meeting in a brief post on his social platform, adding a jab at the incoming mayor by writing that “the communist asked to meet”.
Mamdani’s transition staff confirmed the request, saying the discussion would focus on public safety, economic security and a cost-of-living plan that received more than a million votes in New York’s recent election.
The confirmation comes three days after Trump acknowledged ongoing coordination between the two offices, telling reporters that efforts were underway to arrange the meeting.
“We’ll work something out.
We want everything to go well for New York,” he said.
The upcoming encounter follows a fiercely adversarial campaign.
Trump repeatedly attacked Mamdani, calling him “a communist” and “a hater of Jews,” and warned he might withhold federal funds from New York if Mamdani won.
Trump ultimately endorsed independent candidate Andrew Cuomo in what became a symbolic contest over the ideological direction of American urban politics.
Mamdani, for his part, built his campaign around open opposition to the White House.
In his victory speech, he framed his election as proof that Democrats could defeat Republican influence at every level.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that once lifted him to prominence.
In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light,” he said, arguing that the way to restrain a leader is to dismantle the conditions that allowed him to rise.
Both camps now signal a willingness—whether pragmatic or tactical—to engage.
For New York’s incoming mayor, the meeting offers a chance to demonstrate readiness for governance after a polarizing election.
For President Trump, it provides an opportunity to shape federal-city cooperation on security and affordability while managing relations with a mayor who openly challenged him.
Whether Friday’s meeting produces tangible policy coordination or remains a symbolic gesture will become clear only in the months ahead.
But the fact that it is happening at all marks a notable moment in a deeply divided political landscape.
