Donald Trump has lavished praise on New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in a meeting amid the president’s anti-communism election rhetoric.
During his visit to New York, Trump, 80, met Mamdani, 34, on Monday afternoon at Gracie Mansion, the residence of the city’s first Muslim mayor.
While Ugandan-born Mamdani is a democratic socialist, in June last year Trump called him a “100% Communist Lunatic” before he was elected as mayor in November.
Trump even claimed three months later that Mamdani running for mayor “will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party” and called out his “FAKE Communist promises.”
Since, the president has continued to warn of an impending threat of “godless communists” in the Democratic Party taking over America ahead of the midterm elections, but has softened his stance on Mamdani, calling him “charming” and “better looking in person” than on TV.
After his election, Mamdani’s focus has been on funding childcare, expanding protection for tenants and workers and repairing city roads.
Trump continued to gush over the popular mayor on Monday, as the pair spoke to the media after their private meeting, and avoided discussing prior disagreements.
The senior president said he had visited Gracie Mansion “a lot” with “numerous” different New York mayors over the years. Trump said there had been “some great ones and some not-so-great ones” before turning towards Mamdani. “So hopefully you’re gonna be a great one, I’ll be able to say, `You’re gonna be a great one,’ and you’re off to a start.”
Mamdani acknowledged Trump’s praise with a slight head nod.
After 10 minutes, the assembled media were told “that is all the time the president has,” by an adviser.
However, the president stayed behind Mamdani, even after the mayor had given him a goodbye handshake and thanked him for his time.
When a reporter noted that Trump was still present and asked him a question, Mamdani turned to speak to the president. Seemingly overruling the adviser, the mayor told the media, “The president is saying he can answer a couple more questions.”
Trump was then asked why he had just praised the mayor, after having had “so many criticisms” of him in the past.
The president did not address his prior remarks, but said, “I certainly hope he will be a great mayor.”
Stating he wanted “what’s good for New York” and America, Trump added, “If I had a choice of having him be a bad mayor or horrible mayor, I don’t want that. I want him to be a great mayor, and he’s certainly got potential. Got great potential.” Trump then left the media call at 5:24 p.m.
Trump could repeatedly be seen patting Mamdani on the back during their friendly exchange. The body language between the men looked friendly, with the president appearing deferential as the mayor was speaking at the lectern.
After Trump had departed, Mamdani was asked if he should be criticized for meeting with Trump.
The mayor said during his campaign he had promised voters “I would meet with anyone, work with anyone that could deliver for New Yorkers,” and said he chose Gracie Mansion to meet with the president as a good location “for a continuation of the conversation of how to deliver for the people who are being priced out of the city.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Speaking to CNN after his meeting with Trump, Mamdani spoke about being a democratic socialist and the president’s communist rhetoric.
“I think the attempt at fear mongering is a long, sad fact of American political life for many, many years,” Mamdani told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
He aded, “I’ve also found that more New Yorkers are less interested in how I describe myself than whether there’s room for them in that description. They want to know, ‘Does that mean you will fight for me?’ Because here in New York City, there has been a fading sense of relevance of politics to the struggles of working people.”
Trump has also called Michigan Democratic nominee Abdul El Sayed a “communist” who is “full of hate.”
