The president’s Oval Office meeting with New York’s incoming leader is not open to the press.
Trump, 79, frequently invites reporters into the Oval Office for a front-seat view as he sits down with U.S. and world leaders, but, according to his schedule, the media was barred from his first meeting with Mamdani, the Democratic socialist 45 years his junior.
Their first face-to-face comes after Trump lobbed a series of nasty attacks on the political upstart who mounted an underdog campaign and went on to win the race to lead the largest city in the U.S.
Trump has blasted Mamdani as a “communist lunatic” and “not very smart.” He falsely accused him of being in the country illegally, threatened to arrest him, and warned that he would cut off money to New York if he won.
Honestly, I think this is the best option. Nothing good would have come of their conversation being in public.
He keeps trying to pass himself off as a smart man, and there’s just no way to keep up that act if you’ve got an actually smart man talking to you.
Yep yep. Putting a reality show brained narcissist in front of cameras is only a good idea if you want footage of a crashout
I disagree. I think Mamdani would have made a fool out of Trump while trying not to. He still will, but now we won’t get to see it.
You want entertainment. He wants to take the job seriously. The mayor of New York wants to secure some form of business dealing going forward and do right by his constituency.
When his hands are tied behind public image, he can’t talk openly about a lot of things that would make the general public panic or not understand the meaning and context. We tend to forget or choose to forget that even the best politics is still public perception management.
What good would have come from that? Trump would just go overboard with whatever fascist retaliation he can in order to compensate for his embarrassment.
Nah, trump couldn’t even open his mouth without pissing off his base. Any footage would call attention to his base that he let the “devil” in.
100%, the American public, for as much as everyone complains about the state of politics, are not much better as a driving force for policy and good outcomes.
Because everyone can’t keep their shit together and the most ill-informed voices now speak loudest, we’re going to see more and more actual politics moving behind closed doors, for better or worse.
I think that’s fine, though. You don’t always need to see how the sausage is made. It’s only the fact they Trump is such an untrustworthy person that this is an issue. I trust Mamdani, though.
You’re right, there are secret meetings between powerful individuals that should remain hidden from public knowledge
Not every conversation needs to be public.
Not every conversation, but every conversation between powerful individuals.
And maybe that’s an impractical standard, but the spirit of it is more liberating than letting corruption fester in the darkness.
It is an impractical standard. While I understand where you’re coming from, I think sometimes you need to allow people an opportunity to talk without every word being judged.
If the meeting is public, then it will never be a true conversation. It will be 2 people giving prepared statements in the form of a conversation.
That’s an interesting perspective and I see where you are coming from. But practicality is out the window with the Trump admin. Transparency is practical