After winning on a progressive platform, democratic socialists are reaching out to the political establishment.
President Trump and Mamdani say White House meeting was ‘productive’
President Donald Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani said they had a productive meeting after weeks of insults and warnings.
NEW YORK – Following a shocking upset of the Democratic establishment, New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani is courting skeptics before taking office.
The democratic socialist continues to mend fences with right-wing establishment figures after winning on a progressive platform to address affordability in the nation’s largest city.
Mamdani, 34, took office Jan. 1 and appears to be trying to address concerns about his age, lack of experience and being a progressive leading the city in a transition period filled with past City Hall veterans and a diverse panel of voices.
And he is backing Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked successor, against challenges from the left.
He once made divisive comments, criticizing pro-Israel movements, and later condemned language spearheaded by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Mamdani goes to Washington
Mamdani called for a White House meeting with President Donald Trump to focus on addressing the cost of living.
“I’m willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone as long as it benefits New Yorkers’ economic policy,” Mamdani said before an Oval Office event on Nov. 21.
Mamdani called Trump a “fascist” and a “tyrant,” but stressed that he was actually interested in working together on an affordable basis.
The charm attack seemed to work, at least temporarily. President Trump threatened to cut funding to New York City if Mamdani was elected. But President Trump has said directly that he wants to see Mamdani succeed in his homeland.
intervene on behalf of Jeffries
Mamdani then contested the primary to unseat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
On November 17, Councilman Chi Ose, 27, a left-wing Democrat from Brooklyn who supported Mamdani’s candidacy, applied to form a campaign committee to oppose Jeffries, who had resisted supporting Mamdani until the very end.
The left wing of the Democratic Party has had problems with Jeffries over his support for Israel and his perceived inability to stand up to Trump.
The New York Daily News reported that Mamdani went to a Democratic Socialist Party of America support forum in New York City on Nov. 19 and asked the group not to support Osse’s candidacy.
“This is not a question of the ballot box, this is not a question of who you want to vote for,” Mamdani later said on the left-wing podcast “Majority Report with Sam Seder.” “This is a question of how you want to spend your next year. Do you want to spend your next year pursuing the agenda that is at the heart of this movement, or do you want to spend it defending a caricature of that movement?”
Instead, he wants to focus activist energies on achieving his policy goals, including a rent freeze on rent-stabilized units, faster and free busing, and universal free child care.
On November 22nd, NYC-DSA members reportedly voted by a narrow margin not to endorse Mr. Océ in a citywide election working group. Mr. Océ told reporters that he had no intention of challenging Mr. Jeffries without DSA’s support. Mr. Océ did not respond to requests for comment.
The next day, Mamdani said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that if Democrats take control of the House in the 2026 midterm elections, he would support Jeffries to remain party leader and become speaker of the House.
Going mainstream
Mr. Mamdani’s transition advisers include veteran city officials who served under Mr. de Blasio and current Mayor Eric Adams, as well as antitrust scholar Lina Khan, who served as chair of the Federal Trade Commission under former President Joe Biden.
Mamdani also announced the appointment of more than 400 people to 17 transition committees, which make recommendations on personnel and policy matters. The group included a small number of fellow DSA members and grassroots organizers focused on tenant rights and racial justice, but it included representatives from the real estate and financial industries as well as heads of established unions.
Members include Kathy Wilde, an alleged billionaire whisperer who heads the business organization Partnership for New York City, and Carlina Rivera, a former City Council member who now heads the New York State Affordable Housing Association, a nonprofit trade group representing developers.
On November 26, the race for City Council president appeared to be over, as Julie Menin, a moderate council member from Manhattan’s wealthy Upper East Side, said she had enough support to lead the 51-member City Council.
Mamdani’s spokeswoman, Dora Pekek, said Mamdani looks forward to working with her and the City Council to achieve “affordable policies for New Yorkers.”
retracts anti-Israel statements
In another test, Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel, had to respond to a pro-Palestinian protest outside a Manhattan synagogue on Nov. 19.
The religious space hosted events by groups promoting Jewish immigration to Israel and the occupied West Bank. According to media reports, the chant includes phrases such as “Death to the IDF” and “Globalize the Intifada,” references to the Israel Defense Forces, and is interpreted by many as a call for violence against Jews even outside of Israel. Protesters reportedly blocked the entrance to the temple for a time.
Mamdani reportedly admonished the protesters for their language and said New Yorkers should have free access to places of worship, but said places of worship should not violate international law, referring to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. His comments drew immediate backlash from many Jewish groups, who said they were quick to condemn the synagogue rather than the protesters.
A few days later, he issued a new statement to the New York Times. He said he would protect First Amendment rights, making clear that nothing justifies asking someone to die. The language was unacceptable, he said.
On his way to his meeting with President Trump, Mamdani spoke with the synagogue’s rabbi and his son, who is also a rabbi and a prominent Mamdani critic.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Contact us via email (emcuevas1@usatoday.com) or Signal (emcuevas.01).
