Over recent weeks, a segment of President Donald Trump’s most devoted base, along with the President himself, had engaged in discrediting New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, by labeling him a and a jihadist.
Anticipation for their inaugural Oval Office encounter was for a ; Fox News had even displayed a morning ticker proclaiming, “Showdown with Socialism.”
However, to their astonishment, Trump seemed captivated by the fellow Queens native. Following an exceptionally amiable meeting, he pledged to be “helping him, not hurting him.”
On Friday, during the meeting with Mamdani at his side, Trump informed the assembled journalists, “We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” often flashing a wide smile. He added, “I think he’s going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”
During one particular exchange, when a reporter questioned Mamdani about his prior assertion that Trump is a fascist, the President promptly intervened to alleviate the tension, remarking, “That’s okay, you can just say yes,” while laughing and patting the mayor-elect’s elbow. He concluded, “It’s easier than explaining.”
This development has soured the mood for certain Trump adherents who had enthusiastically participated in the President’s vigorous campaign opposing the 34-year-old democratic socialist.
During his mayoral campaign, Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, representing upstate New York, characterized Mamdani as an “antisemitic, jihadist, Communist candidate.” Following Mamdani’s victory, Trump himself labeled him “a 100% Communist Lunatic” and issued threats to withdraw federal funding from the city.
However, when queried during his Oval Office meeting about whether he concurred with Stefanik’s portrayal of Mamdani as a jihadist, Trump responded: “No, I don’t. But she’s out there campaigning and you say things sometimes when in a campaign.”
Stefanik, a staunch Trump ally nominated by the President for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and a recent gubernatorial candidate for New York, reiterated her stance on X afterwards, stating: “We all want NYC to succeed. But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.”
Laura Loomer, a self-proclaimed Islamophobe and right-wing provocateur, also a close Trump associate, posted on X: “Wild to allow a jihadist communist to stand behind the President’s desk in the Oval Office. Sad to see.”
In a subsequent post, among several on the subject, she questioned: “So we are just going to normalize communism?”
New York City Council member Inna Vernikov likewise expressed disappointment at the meeting’s perceived lack of intensity.
Prior to the encounter, she had written: “Tomorrow, @realDonaldTrump will SCHOOL @ZohranKMamdani. The public should be able to watch.”
Her tone, however, had noticeably changed after the meeting.
She later stated: “It’s a good day for the American People when two leaders of such diametrically opposing views can come together for the betterment of our city and find common ground. But we should never KOSHER a Marxist with Jihadist aligned views.”
She further added, “Mamdani should have been given a spanking at the White House. Disappointed that instead, he was legitimized.”
On Fox News, numerous hosts expressed astonishment and perplexity.
In response to the amicable meeting, Fox News Anchor David Asman remarked, “Just one word—wow.” He added that Mamdani and Trump “looked like best friends.”
Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade implied that Vice President J.D. Vance might have cause for “jealousy,” describing the gathering as a “love-fest” and a “respect-fest.”
He further commented, “I think the president wants to use [Mamdani] as a running mate. They got along fantastic.”
During an interview with Fox News, Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt seemed keen to assure Republicans that the meeting’s positive outcome stemmed from the President’s readiness to “meet with anybody,” rather than any leanings towards communism.
She informed host Sean Hannity, “We know, and the president knows and the American people know that nationally, President Trump’s policies work, and capitalism works.” She then added, “Who knows? Maybe Mayor Mamdani will go back to New York and maybe he learned a few things from President Trump today.”
Mamdani’s Stance: Trump Remains a Fascist
Notwithstanding the professional demeanor maintained in the Oval Office, Mamdani unequivocally stated in subsequent days that his opinion of the President had not wavered.
Mamdani had previously declared that, if elected, he would be and would employ his authority to
On Sunday’s NBC’s Meet the Press, Kristen Welker inquired if he upheld his earlier statements referring to Trump as a “fascist,” to which he replied: “That’s something that I’ve said in the past. I say it today.”
He further elaborated, “And I think what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that has brought us to this moment.”
However, Mamdani redirected the focus back to affordability, a theme he consistently returned to during his meeting with Trump, and an area where both discovered mutual understanding.
In Sunday’s interview, he stated: “I found in the meeting that I had with the president a productive one and a meeting that came back again and again to the central themes of the campaign that we ran, the cost of housing, cost of child care, the cost of groceries, the cost of utilities.” He concluded, “And it showed that this is an opportunity to now start to deliver so that people can do more than just aspire to struggle in New York City, but actually to be able to live there.”
