President Trump and NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani Find Common Ground Despite Political Differences

Trump described his meeting with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the Oval Office as "great".

Washington:

During a meeting with New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, President Donald Trump displayed a surprising attitude, indicating he would be "okay" if Mamdani continued referring to him as a "fascist," a term Mamdani had previously used at campaign events, according to CNN.

When questioned by a reporter if the mayor-elect maintained this characterization, Mamdani began responding, "I've spoken about it...," but Trump promptly interrupted.

"That's okay. You can just say yes. It's easier than explaining it. I don't mind," Trump stated.

Earlier today, President Donald Trump characterized his Oval Office meeting with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani as "great" and "very productive," CNN reported.

Trump, who hails from New York, offered congratulations to Mamdani on his electoral victory and mentioned that they discovered mutual interests on several critical issues, including housing development and escalating food costs.

"We've just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting. One thing in common, we want this city of ours that we love to do very well," the president remarked. "And I congratulated him, and we talked about some things in very strong common, like housing and getting housing built, and food prices. The price of oil is coming way down," President Trump informed reporters, according to CNN.

Trump also extended a gesture of goodwill toward Mamdani, suggesting the new mayor might surprise people across the political spectrum.

"I think you're going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor. The better he does, the happier I am. I will say there's no difference in party. I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually, and some very liberal people," President Trump stated as per CNN.

Standing alongside the president, Mamdani agreed with Trump's assessment, describing their discussion as highly productive and centered on pressing cost-of-living challenges confronting New Yorkers.

"I appreciated the meeting with the president, as he said, it was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, New York City," Mamdani stated, according to CNN.

The mayor-elect added that they addressed issues forcing residents to leave the city, including rising rent, groceries, and utilities costs.

"We spoke about rent, we spoke about groceries, we spoke about utilities. We spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out. I appreciated the time with the president, I appreciated the conversation, and I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers," Zohran Mamdani said as per CNN.