Trump meets New York Mayor-elect Mamdani for first time in the Oval Office

President Donald Trump spoke with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office on Friday. It was the first time the socialist politician the administration has called a “communist” met with the MAGA leader.

The two men found unity during their meeting, with Trump telling the media that the two men shared the mission of a better New York City.

“We have one thing in common,” Trump said Friday. “We want our city that we love to do very well. And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He really ran an incredible race against, you know, a lot of smart people, starting in the early primaries against very tough people, very smart people. And he beat them, and he beat them handily. And I congratulated him, and we talked about some things in common very loudly, like housing and housing construction and food and prices.”

The president and mayor-elect met at the White House Friday afternoon before opening the doors of the Oval Office to the media for questions. Trump predicted that New York City, his hometown, would have a “great mayor,” while noting that the White House would be there to help.

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President Donald Trump meets with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, November 21, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

“I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really good mayor and the better he does, the happier I’ll be,” Trump said. “I will say there’s no difference in the party, there’s no difference in anything. And we’re going to help him realize everyone’s dream, to have a strong and very safe New York.”

Before the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Mamdani a “communist,” while noting that Trump’s doors are open to any American leader, regardless of political party.

Trump predicts ‘civil’ meeting with Mamdani despite past comments about each other

Trump remained seated during his press conference, while Mamdani stood beside him and answered a handful of questions. The two shared hopeful outlooks for the future, with Trump saying that despite their political differences, they will work together and also share a handful of priorities, namely affordability and lowering the cost of living for Americans.

“He has some opinions that are a little divided, but who knows? And then we’ll see what works, or he’ll change too. We all change,” Trump said. “I’ve changed a lot. Changed a lot since I took office, it’s been a while now, quite a while. My first term was great. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. We’re doing even better now. We’re doing a lot better now than even in the first term. And I can tell you that some of my views have changed.”

The president predicted that Mamdani “is going to surprise some conservatives, actually, and some very liberal ones.”

The president predicted that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani “is going to surprise some conservatives, actually, and some very liberal ones.” (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

The mayor-elect added that he appreciated the meeting and said it was largely focused on how to improve New York City and get citizens out of the cost spiral.

“I think President Trump and I are very clear about our positions and our views,” Mamdani said. “And what I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had didn’t focus on the areas of disagreement, which there are many, but also focused on the common goal that we have to serve New Yorkers.

LEAVITT DOES NOT MACHINE WORDS BEFORE MAMDANI-TRUMP MEETING: “THE COMMUNIST IS COMING TO THE WHITE HOUSE”

President Donald Trump meets with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House, November 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

“And frankly, this is something that could transform the lives of the 8.5 million people currently struggling with a cost of living crisis, one in four of whom live in poverty,” he said. “And the meeting came back again and again to what it could look like to get these New Yorkers out of the struggle and start giving them a city in which they could do more than just struggle to afford it, but actually start living there.”

Trump joked at the news conference that the media had shown great interest in the meeting, noting that despite hosting many high-profile events with foreign countries, his meeting with New York City’s next leader had drawn “hundreds of people waiting” outside while a small group of reporters could show up in the Oval Office.

Jacqui Heinrich, Fox News’ senior White House correspondent, at one point pressed Mamdani about his past remarks describing Trump as a “fascist,” and the president interjected to tell her it was easier to “just say yes.”

“Are you saying that you think President Trump is a fascist?” » asked Heinrich.

“ I talked about…” Mamdani began to respond before Trump said, “It’s OK. You can just say yes. »

“OK, fine,” Mamdani continued.

“It’s easier. It’s… it’s easier than explaining it. It doesn’t bother me,” Trump added.

Trump praised Mamdani as a “rational person” who aims to make New York City safer and reduce costs.

The sun sets over the Midtown Manhattan skyline and the Empire State Building in New York on November 15, 2024. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

“I met a man who really wants to see New York become great again,” Trump said. “And I can say that again because New York was great, you know, when I first came to Washington. The city was so hot and doing very well. We had telltale signs of problems. We had a mayor who wasn’t doing a great job, but still, it was moving forward. And it went bad. It really went, you know, pretty bad. And it may, I think it was at lower points, but it went pretty bad.”

Mamdani, who has been accused of holding anti-Semitic views, concluded the news conference by pledging that he would work to keep New York City safe for its large Jewish population.

“I care deeply about the safety of Jews and look forward to eradicating anti-Semitism in the five boroughs and protecting New York’s Jews,” he said.

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Mamdani won his election on Nov. 4, facing off against Republican challenger Curtis Sliwa and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing his Democratic primary election to Mamdani over the summer.

Mamdani will be sworn in as mayor of the Big Apple on January 1.