‘Call me a fascist, it’s OK’: Trump surprises Zohran Mamdani at White House
Zohran Mamdani met Donald Trump in the White House this evening after winning New York’s mayoral election earlier this month.
But the meeting took an unexpected turn when the US president, who previously described Mamdani as a ‘communist’, told him ‘it’s OK’ to call him a ‘fascist’.
When a reporter asked Mamdani whether he stands by his previous remark that Donald is a fascist, New York’s mayor-elect replied ‘I’ve spoken about…’ before Trump jumped in, saying: ‘That’s OK, you can just say it.’
He added that ‘it’s easier than explaining it, I don’t mind’, before patting him on the shoulder as they both smiled.
Before the meeting Mamdani said he wanted to work with Trump – despite their political differences and previous comments about each other.
New York’s mayor-elect said: ‘I intend to make it clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers.
‘If an agenda hurts New Yorkers, I will also be the first to say something.’
And despite Trump previously calling him a communist, Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist.
During the meeting the president said they agree on ‘a lot more than I would have thought’.
He also congratulated Mamdani on winning the New York mayoral race, adding that he thinks he will do a ‘great job’.
Mamdani described the occasion as a ‘great meeting’.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mamdani said: ‘I think President Trump and I are very clear about our positions and our views.
‘What I really appreciate about the president is the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, of which there are many, [but] focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers.
‘Frankly that is something that could transform the lives of eight-and-a-half million people under a cost-of-living crisis, with one in four people living in poverty.
‘The meeting came back again and again to what it could look like to lift those New Yorkers out of struggle and start to deliver them a city that they could do more than just struggle to afford in but actually start to live in.’
Despite their past comments, it appeared the pair had made up, with Trump also saying that while Mamdani’s views were a ‘little out there’, he could ‘surprise some conservative people’.
Trump said: ‘We had a meeting today that actually surprised me. He wants to see no crime.
‘He wants to see housing being built. He wants to see rents coming down. All things that I agree with.’
During the meeting they also discussed antisemitism and electricity prices.
Mamdani said he cares deeply about the safety of the Jewish community in New York.
‘I look forward to rooting out antisemitism across the five boroughs and protecting Jewish New Yorkers and every New Yorker who calls the city home,’ he said.
The incoming mayor previously faced accusations of antisemitism for being pro-Palestine and criticizing Israel.
And Trump said before that Jewish voters would be ‘stupid’ to vote for Mamdani.
After Mamdani spoke about his campaign on affordability, Trump said: ‘We’ve got fuel prices way down, but it hasn’t shown up in Con Edison [the New York City-based energy company].
‘We’re going to have to talk to them. We have to get Con Edison to start lowering their rates.’
Politics Editor
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