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.
It could be as simple as him demonizing every Democrat by default, but when he actually talks to Mamdani he saw he was just a person, and a charming one at that.
I think part of the reason Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the governor race in Virginia is because she actually went into red areas and talked to Trump voters face to face. It’s harder to demonize people when you have met them and they didn’t kill your wife or turn your dog trans.
But after Trump spends a few days back in his sycophant and Fox News echo chamber he will go right back to bad-mouthing Mamdani.