New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani meets with President Trump at the White House
President Donald Trump has confirmed via Truth Social that he is meeting with New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani to discuss affordability and public safety.
More than two weeks after endorsing his rival on the eve of the election, President Donald Trump will welcome incoming New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani to the Oval Office on November 21st.
Mamdani, the first Muslim and South Asian to be elected mayor of New York, has been the subject of ridicule by President Trump, who often incorrectly calls the self-proclaimed democratic socialist a “communist.”
Mamdani, 34, will be the youngest mayor of New York in more than a century. At 79 years old, Trump is from Queens and is the oldest person elected as commander in chief.
Trump went so far as to ignore his own Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, in favor of Mamdani’s chief rival, former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The high-stakes meeting, which will take place at 3 p.m., is currently closed to the press and could include discussions on affordability, federal funding, infrastructure projects and Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city. Follow the USA TODAY News team for live updates.
Mamdani arrives in the Oval Office after protesting outside the White House
Zoran Mamdani protested outside the White House about two years ago.
In December 2023, Mamdani, then a state representative from Queens, called on former President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, to enact a permanent ceasefire in Israel’s siege of Gaza, following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October of the same year. Mamdani said in an Instagram post that she and others had just completed a five-day hunger strike. He said some of the names of those killed were read outside the White House as the death toll reached 15,207.
“Each action begets new action, and Washington, D.C., is more committed than ever to holding the President and Congress accountable in saving lives,” he said. “See you at the next meeting.”
Reuters reported that the death toll in Gaza now exceeds 69,000, according to statistics from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. Since October, Palestinians continue to be killed by Israeli airstrikes despite a tentative US-brokered ceasefire under President Donald Trump.
Returning to Washington on November 21, Mamdani and Trump are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office, but Gaza is not expected to be mentioned on the agenda. Instead, Mamdani indicated the meeting would focus on affordability issues.
– Eduardo Cuevas
Where is the current mayor of New York?
Eric Adams, the embattled one-term Democratic mayor, has been out of sight around the city in recent days.
Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Nov. 21, while Adams’ public schedule included a stay in Uzbekistan to meet with government, business and religious leaders in the Central Asian country. Adams, 65, has been in Uzbekistan for several days after traveling to Israel. According to Adams’ office, Adams had been out of the country for a week since November 14th.
Adams ended his campaign in September, facing bleak prospects for re-election. His administration was mired in scandals, resignations, and corruption investigations. The mayor was facing federal corruption charges for allegedly soliciting and accepting illegal gifts and campaign contributions from wealthy foreigners, including those in the Turkish government. In early 2025, President Trump’s Justice Department intervened to drop the charges in exchange for cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Adams earlier visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump, then skipped the event to attend Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. Mr Adams denied there was any quid pro quo.
Mamdani is expected to replace Adams on New Year’s Day, Adams will be away from work for the time being.
Mamdani arrives in the Oval Office after protesting outside the White House
Zoran Mamdani protested outside the White House about two years ago.
In December 2023, Mamdani, then a state representative from Queens, called on former President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, to enact a permanent ceasefire in Israel’s siege of Gaza, following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October of the same year. Mamdani said in an Instagram post that she and others had just completed a five-day hunger strike. He said some of the names of those killed were read outside the White House as the death toll reached 15,207.
“Each action begets new action, and Washington, D.C., is more committed than ever to holding the President and Congress accountable in saving lives,” he said. “See you at the next meeting.”
Reuters reported that the death toll in Gaza now exceeds 69,000, according to statistics from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. Since October, Palestinians continue to be killed by Israeli airstrikes despite a tentative US-brokered ceasefire under President Donald Trump.
Returning to Washington on November 21, Mamdani and Trump are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office, but Gaza is not expected to be mentioned on the agenda. Instead, Mamdani indicated the meeting would focus on affordability issues.
– Eduardo Cuevas
President Trump expects ‘private’ meeting with Mandani, ‘will get along well’
President Donald Trump on Friday praised incoming New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani for running a “good race” during an afternoon meeting in the Oval Office and said he believed “we can do well.”
“Look, we want the same thing. We want a strong New York,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade show. “And you know, there’s a very different philosophy. But I’ll let you know. I’ll let you know over the next year.”
Trump was asked about Mamdani’s election night speech, and the 34-year-old democratic socialist directed his comments at the president, telling him to “turn up the volume.”
“I have to be careful when he says that to me,” Trump said, adding that he didn’t know what Mamdani meant.
“I said, ‘What does that mean? Turn up the volume. What does that mean? Let’s do it,'” Trump said. “I don’t think so. He was very kind to call me, and we’re going to have a meeting – we’ll probably meet today at three o’clock – and I think it’s going to be pretty amicable. We’ll find out.”
Ahead of the Nov. 4 election, President Trump repeatedly threatened to withhold federal funding from Mamdani, who has attacked “socialists,” if he wins the election.
President Trump said the face-to-face meeting would be open to reporters.
“I think so. I don’t think there’s a problem because he’s a politician. One of the things I’ve noticed about politicians is that the answer is always ‘yes,’ except in the case of Biden,” Trump said.
-Joey Garrison
Both are from President Trump’s childhood neighborhood of Queens and voted for Mamdani.
The Jamaica Estates neighborhood in Queens, where President Donald Trump spent his childhood, voted heavily for Zoran Mamdani in the Nov. 4 mayoral election.
This affluent suburban enclave is located in eastern Queens. In the district that includes the Trump family’s Tudor two-story home at 85-15 Wareham Place, Mr. Mamdani, a state representative from Queens, had a nearly 20-point lead, according to unofficial results from the New York City Board of Elections. Mr. Mamdani received 56% of the vote, compared to 37% for his next closest opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an independent from Queens and backed by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Mamdani won about 50.4% of the Queens vote, compared to 41.6% for Mr. Cuomo, which reflects citywide election results.
Mamdani, 34, and Trump, 79, lived in very different versions of Queens, which today is one of the most diverse places in the world. Nearly half of the ward is foreign-born.
As The New York Times reported, President Trump’s Jamaica Estate at the time was almost entirely white. Today, the region is even more diverse. Demographic data for the area where Mr. Cuomo grew up and the city adjacent to Holliswood shows the area’s population is about 32.5% Asian, 24.7% Black, 22.3% White, and 15.4% Hispanic or Latino. Another affluent neighborhood, Holliswood has traditionally had a larger black and Latino population than Jamaica Estates.
– Eduardo Cuevas
Are you Zoran Mandani?
Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani, 34, is currently serving three terms in the New York State Assembly, representing part of the borough of Queens. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is set to become the first Muslim mayor and the first Asian American mayor in New York City history.
Born in Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York as a child and grew up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He is the son of Indian-American film director Mira Naar and Columbia University professor Mahmoud Mamdani, who is Indian-Ugandan.
The mayor-elect is married to artist and illustrator Rama Duwaj. The two married earlier this year and live in Astoria, Queens.
–Eduardo Cuevas
A year ago, Mamdani spoke to Trump supporters. The theme was reasonably priced.
Just over a year ago, Zoran Mamdani went viral on social media after speaking to The New Yorker about why he voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Mamdani, microphone in hand, visited the immigrant-heavy, non-white, working-class neighborhoods of the Bronx and Queens, the areas that were most tilted toward Trump.
Mamdani asked them about voting and whether they did not go to the ballot box at all. According to his post, a common theme in support for Trump was the cost of living. Mamdani then asked about the upcoming 2025 mayoral elections.
“If you had a candidate who advocated freezing rent, free busing, universal childcare, etc., would you support them?” Mamdani said in a not-so-subtle nod to his three-part campaign platform. “Of course he will accept my vote all day long,” one man told Mamdani.
Mamdani then rose meteorically from single digits in the polls to become the next mayor in less than two months. Like President Trump, voters will have to wait and see whether Mamdani can cut costs. The two sides, who have very different approaches, are currently scheduled to meet at the White House.
–Eduardo Cuevas
“He will have more problems with Washington than any mayor in the history of our once great city,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sept. 29. “Remember, he needs money from me as president to fulfill all of the communist’s false promises. He won’t receive any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
-Swapna Venugopal Ramaswami
The day before his visit to the White House, Mamdani explained why he contacted the White House to set up a meeting.
“Because I will work with anyone to make life more affordable for the more than 8.5 million people who call this city home,” he said. “While I have many disagreements with the president, I believe we must relentlessly pursue every avenue and every meeting to make our city affordable for every New Yorker.”
Mamdani’s campaign promises include free buses, universal child care and a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments. He said he would fund these efforts by increasing taxes on the top 1% of earners (nearly $1 million a year) and increasing corporate taxes.
Mamdani also said city police officers will not assist ICE in conducting federal immigration operations.
–Swapna Venugopal Ramaswami
“I’m going to make it clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers,” he said on Nov. 19. “If there’s an agenda that hurts New Yorkers, I’ll be the first to say so, too.”
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said the meeting was evidence of Trump’s generosity.
“This speaks to the fact that President Trump will meet and talk with anyone and try to do the right thing on behalf of the American people, whether they live in a blue state, a red state, a blue city,” Levitt said.
The city where Trump is from and where he built his real estate empire is “moving much further to the left than this president expected in his years living in New York,” she said.
–Swapna Venugopal Ramaswami
