Trump and Mamdani find common ground after months of exchanged insults

While President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani congratulated each other after meeting at the White House on Friday, the two have not shied away from trading barbs in the past.

From “crazy” to “crazy communist,” Trump has launched a series of attacks on Mamdani over the past year – targeting his appearance and his intellect.

“He looks terrible, his voice is squeaky, he’s not very smart,” Trump said in a social media post in June after Mamdani became the Democratic nominee for mayor.

Trump once threatened to arrest Mamdani if ​​he refused to comply with federal immigration authorities. The comment comes after Mamdani said in June that he would stop “masked” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from “deporting our neighbors.”

While President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani congratulated each other after their meeting at the White House on November 21, 2025, the two have not shied away from exchanging barbs in the past. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

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“Well, then we’ll have to stop it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on July 1. “Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we do, I’m going to watch him very carefully on behalf of the nation. We send him money. We send him everything he needs to run a government.”

Also in July, Trump told reporters at a Cabinet meeting that New Yorkers should not vote for Mamdani, and described him as “a man who is not very capable in my opinion, other than he has a good line of bull—.”

Trump has also repeatedly referred to Mamdani as a “communist” – a term that Mamdani says is a false characterization of his political ideology. Mamdani instead said he was a democratic socialist.

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Zohran Mamdani called Trump a “despot” in his victory speech after winning the New York mayoral election on November 4. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Mamdani had his share of harsh remarks in turn towards the president. Mamdani called Trump a “despot” in his victory speech after winning the New York mayoral election on November 4.

“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it’s the city that birthed him,” Mamdani said. “And if there is a way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.”

“This is not only how we will stop Trump, this is how we will stop the next one,” Mamdani said. “So Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn up the volume.”

“I expect to help him, not hurt him, which will be a big help,” President Donald Trump said Friday. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

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Mamdani also said at a Nov. 5 press conference after the election that he would seek to “challenge” New York in order to protect “those most in need from the consequences of a man with the most power in this country.”

However, the two appeared to chart a new course for their relationship by finding common ground on issues of affordability and improving conditions in New York. Trump admitted that the two men had more in common than he thought – despite their different views – and that he would “cheer on” Mamdani as he led the city.

“I expect to help him, not hurt him, which will be a big help,” Trump said Friday.

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Trump also brushed off Mamdani’s “despot” comment in the Oval Office on Friday, saying he had faced worse and believed Mamdani would change his mind as the two worked together.

“I’ve been called a lot worse than a ‘despot,’ so it’s not, it’s not that insulting. I think he’ll change his mind once we start working together,” Trump said.