US President Donald Trump hosted New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday, for a meeting that took place without apparent conflict -- despite their radically different worldviews.
While the pair appeared to be avoiding contentious issues in front of the media, one reporter questioned the mayor-elect on why he had previously said the US is complicit in Israel's genocide in Gaza.
"I have spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide, and I have spoken about our government funding it. And I shared with the president in our meeting about the concern that many New Yorkers have of wanting their tax dollars to go toward the benefit of New Yorkers and their ability to afford basic dignity," Mamdani said, swiftly shifting his response to the cost-of-living crisis.
On the issue of whether Mamdani would follow through on his pledge to enforce the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump said the issue was not discussed in their private talks.
In the run-up to the mayoral election, Trump took several swipes at Mamdani, whom he had labelled a "100% Communist Lunatic".
"We agree on a lot more than I would have thought," the president said, his occasional scowl replaced with a wide smile as he praised Mamdani, whom he now referred to as "Mr. Mayor", and predicted success for his tenure leading New York.
Trump's warm welcome of Mamdani and their televised tete-a-tete in the Oval Office captivated political enthusiasts and moved the headlines into more positive territory for the president after weeks of politically damaging coverage of files related to the late Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who was once a friend of Trump.
Both men used a plainspoken, wry approach tailor-made for the age of social media to make their points, and each left the meeting with something he needed.
Trump's party had been queueing up a 2026 campaign warning that the Democratic Party is getting taken over by people like Mamdani, a 34-year-old Muslim and self-described democratic socialist who may not play as well west of the Hudson River. But Trump swatted all that down.
“The better he does, the happier I am,” Trump, a native New Yorker, said of Mamdani.
Trump denied a charge by Elise Stefanik, the Republican candidate for New York governor and one of his political allies, that Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel, is a “jihadist", saying, “I just met with a man who's a very rational person” and adding that they both wanted peace in the Middle East.
Trump said he'd happily live in Mamdani's New York, countering conservative suggestions that rich New Yorkers should flee the city. He praised Mamdani's decision to keep New York's pro-Israel police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, noting she was a friend of the president's daughter Ivanka. And he demurred when asked about Mamdani's democratic socialism, saying instead that the two had many similar ideas. He noted — and Mamdani emphasized repeatedly — that they'd both run for office on affordability.
During the presser, Trump suggested that Mamdani might “change his mind” about some policies.
“I think he’s going to surprise some conservative people," the president said.
Agencies contributed to this report.