Trump said he would even be comfortable moving back to New York City and living there with Mamdani as mayor, saying he was surprised how much they had in common.
For months, Donald Trump warned New Yorkers against electing Zohran Mamdani as mayor, referring to him as a “communist lunatic.” Mamdani, meanwhile, called Trump a “despot.”
All of that was put aside in an extraordinary Oval Office get-together Friday, the first face-to-face meeting between the two men.
Trump, who sought to kneecap Mamdani during the campaign, was exceedingly complimentary of the self-described democratic socialist, while Mamdani repeatedly talked up his hope that he and the president could work together to lower costs for New Yorkers.
I’m trying to parse this but I just don’t get it.
The only explanation I can come up with is simply that Trump identifies Mamdani as a popular democratically elected official, and wants to share some of that sunshine.
Still weird as hell.
Trump’s brain is mush. Mamdani is very well spoken and can easily navigate a positive conversation with someone like Trump. I bet it was as simple as discussing how much he loves NYC and broadly covering some basic economic policy that will make everyday New Yorkers richer.
It seems obvious in retrospect. Mamdani spends a day talking so the president to get on his good side, suddenly he doesn’t have (ALL of) MAGA calling for his deportation.