November 22, 2025 | 08:22 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Donald Trump said he was "going to be helping" Zohran Mamdani after hosting the Democratic New York City mayor-elect at the White House.
During the New York mayoral campaign, Trump had viciously and inaccurately attacked Mamdani as a "100% Communist Lunatic," a "Jew hater" and a "total nut job," and threatened cuts to federal funding if Mamdani were elected.
In Washington on Friday, however, after a first in-person meeting between the two political oppositions, he struck a more conciliatory tone.
Trump and Mamdani call meeting 'productive'
"We've just had a great ... very productive meeting," the president told reporters in the Oval Office. "We have one thing in common: we want this city of ours that we love to do very well."
Mamdani, who has described himself as a Democratic Socialist and "Donald Trump's worst nightmare," was virtually unknown a year ago, but earned the trust of New York City voters with a campaign promising to lower the cost of living through rent freezes, free buses and city-run grocery stores.
"It was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City, and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers," Mamdani said of his private talks with Trump.
Despite Trump's support for his mayoral opponent Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani's win shattered records, garnering over 1 million votes, something that had not been done since 1969.
"I want to congratulate the mayor, he really ran an incredible race against some very tough people, very smart people," said Trump, who hails from the New York City borough of Queens.
"The better he does, the happier I am," Trump said. "We're going to be helping him to make everybody's dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York."
Trump defends Mamdani against reporters' questions
Indeed, Mamdani appeared to have charmed Trump to such an extent that the president found himself defending the mayor-elect against pointed questions from reporters.
When Mamdani was asked why he flew to Washington when "trains are greener," Trump cut in, saying: "That's a lot quicker too, in all fairness. I'll stick up for you."
Asked if he still thought Trump was a fascist, as he's previously expressed, Trump told Mamdani it was "OK" to just say "yes," which Mamdani did.
When asked whether he would be comfortable living in New York City under a Mamdani administration, he said: "I would. I really would."
And when asked whether he thinks he was standing next to a "jihadist," as Mamdani has absurdly been called, Trump said: "No, I don't. I met with a man who's a very rational person."
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