Surprisingly friendly meeting between President Trump and Zoran Mamdani
USA TODAY’s Joey Garrison breaks down the surprisingly friendly meeting between President Donald Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani.
New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani reiterated his previous criticism of the Republican leader, saying he has not changed his position on President Donald Trump after a friendly meeting with the president at the White House.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker asked Mamdani if she still believed the president was a fascist and a threat to democracy.
The mayor-elect, a democratic socialist, said he stands by the statements he made in his Nov. 4 victory speech, including claims that the president is engaging in an attack on American democracy and represents “fascists” and “tyrants.”
In the interview, Welker also touched on an exchange during a meeting between Trump and Mamdani in the Oval Office in which a reporter asked Mamdani if she thought Trump was a fascist.
As Mamdani began to respond, standing next to the president sitting at his resolute desk, Trump was quick to crack a joke.
President Trump told Mamdani: “It’s okay. Just say ‘yes.'” “It’s easy. It’s easier than explaining. I don’t care.”
Mamdani said in an interview aired on Sunday that he answered “yes” to a reporter’s question after Trump took the jab.
“That’s what I’ve said in the past and I’ll say it today,” Mamdani said.
Although different definitions exist, most experts agree that fascism is an extreme combination of nationalism and militarism, often accompanied by a cult of personality surrounding the leader.
Mamdani’s appearance on “Meet the Press” was Mamdani’s first national interview since their meeting at the White House, and the pair’s friendly and positive attitude drew attention from the public after months of suffering. In the run-up to his landslide election day victory, President Trump accused the mayor-elect of being a communist and a “head job” in several social media posts.
Mamdani said he had not changed his mind about the president’s position, but said he hoped the two countries could work together to address affordability issues. Mamdani’s successful campaign centered around the cost of housing, childcare and groceries.
“What I appreciated in my conversations with the president was that he wasn’t shy about our differences and the politics that brought us to this moment,” Mamdani said of Trump. “And we also wanted to focus on what it would look like to provide a common analysis of the affordability crisis for New Yorkers,” he said.
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And to X@Kathryn Purml.
Contributor: Cybele Mayes-Osterman
