- By Supratik Das
- Fri, 21 Nov 2025 01:45 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Zohran Mamdani-Trump meeting: New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will meet President Donald Trump at the Oval Office on Friday, a long-anticipated encounter that brings together two political figures who have spent months criticising one another, yet say they are prepared to talk if it helps millions of New Yorkers.
Confirming the meeting on Wednesday night, Trump wrote on social media that Mamdani “asked for the meeting,” adding that further details would be shared soon. The president referred to the incoming mayor as a “communist,” repeating an attack line he has used throughout the campaign season.
White House Strikes As Mamdani Focuses Affordability
Mamdani’s spokesperson Dora Pekec, said it is customary for an incoming New York City mayor to call on the president, and that the mayor-elect intends to focus the discussion on “public safety, economic security, and the affordability agenda that over one million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago.”
The White House struck a more combative tone before the meeting. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Mamdani’s visit “speaks volumes,” adding, “Tomorrow, we have a communist coming to the White House because that’s who the Democrat Party elected as the mayor of the largest city in the country.” She added that Trump was open to meeting “anyone who wants to do what’s right for the American people.”
Mamdani Says 'Will Work With Trump'
Despite the political barbs, Mamdani has publicly maintained that he is prepared to work with the president whenever the city’s interests are at stake. “I have many disagreements with the president,” he said in New York, “but we should be relentless in pursuing all avenues that can make our city affordable for every single New Yorker.” He also stressed that he would be the first to oppose any agenda that undermines the city’s residents.
Mamdani, 34, who officially takes office in January, rose from a relatively unknown state lawmaker to become the first South Asian and first Muslim mayor-elect in New York City’s history. Born in Uganda and raised in Queens, he has positioned affordability, workers’ rights, and immigrant empowerment at the core of his platform.
His victory speech earlier this month drew national attention for its sharp critique of Trump’s policies. Trump later dismissed the speech as “very angry,” warning that Mamdani was “off to a bad start.”
The Oval Office meeting will be the first face-to-face interaction between the two since Mamdani’s November 4 win, setting the stage for what could be either an uneasy truce, or another high-profile clash in a rapidly polarising political moment.
