Trump praises New York mayor Mamdani after first face-to-face meeting

President Donald Trump shakes hands with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office (Evan Vucci/AP)

Despite Donald Trump calling New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a “100% Communist lunatic” and a “total nut job”, and Mr Mamdani calling Mr Trump’s administration “authoritarian” and describing himself as “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare”, their first face-to-face meeting at the White House focused more on their shared goals rather than their combustible differences.

The president and the Mayor-elect discussed housing affordability and the cost of groceries and utilities, as Mr Mamdani successfully used frustration over inflation to get elected, just as the president did in the 2024 election.