November 24, 2025 | 03:51 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Newly elected Mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani still asserts his conviction that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is a fascist, despite the warm and surprising meeting they had at the White House earlier this week.
Mamdani expressed this stance in an interview aired on NBC News on Sunday, November 23. "That’s something that I’ve said in the past; I say it today," he stated.
Mamdani's comments came two days after he met with Trump, during which they both expressed a willingness to collaborate on the future of New York City after months of trading barbs.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, Trump, who was raised in New York, previously referred to Mamdani as a "100% Communist Lunatic" in a social media post following the city's election victory.
He also previously suggested that the 34-year-old Ugandan-born politician should be deported. Mamdani had earlier accused Trump of attacking democracy.
The White House Meeting
During the meeting at the White House, Trump intervened when a journalist asked if Mamdani still considered him a fascist.
"That’s OK. You can just say it. That’s easier," Trump told Mamdani. "It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind," he added.
Previously, Trump had threatened to cut federal funding to the largest city in the U.S. and send in the National Guard. However, Trump's tone changed when he praised Mamdani's victory as the mayor of New York City.
In his statement, Trump said, "We’ve just had a great … very productive meeting. We have one thing in common: we want this city of ours that we love to do very well."
He stated that he would assist Mamdani in realizing the dream of ensuring a strong and safe New York for everyone.
Mamdani called the conversation with the president open about their political differences.
"[What] I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that have brought us to this moment," he said.
He described the meeting as productive and repeatedly emphasized his campaign issues of housing costs, childcare expenses, the price of essential goods, and household service expenses.
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