President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with New York City Mayor-elect Zahran Mamdani today, Friday, in the Oval Office at the White House. The meeting comes amidst a backdrop of repeated criticisms from Trump, who has labeled Mamdani a “communist.”
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump stated yesterday that Mamdani had requested the meeting in the Oval Office. Mamdani addressed the planned meeting during a television interview on Wednesday, saying, “My team reached out to the White House out of my commitment to the people of New York that I’d be willing to meet with anyone and everyone, as long as it’s in the interest of the 8.5 million people who call this city home and are struggling to afford to live in the most expensive city in the United States.”
Mamdani added, “I just want to have a frank conversation with the President about what it truly means to advocate for New Yorkers.”
Dora Bekic, spokesperson for the Mayor-elect, stated that it is “customary” for a new New York City Mayor to meet with the President. She added that Mamdani intends to discuss “the public safety, economic security, and affordability agenda that over a million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago.”
Trump has been critical of Mamdani for months, predicting that his election would bring ruin to his hometown. He also threatened to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a U.S. citizen in 2018, and to withhold federal funds from the city. However, following the recent November elections, where Republicans suffered significant losses in Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, Trump has increasingly spoken about affordability, a key focus of Democratic campaigns, including Mamdani’s. He even declared a week ago that the Republican Party is the “party of affordability.”
This declaration comes as Trump and his Republican allies insist that the economy has never been stronger. Mamdani, who is scheduled to officially take office in January, stated on Monday…
