{"id":152751,"date":"2025-11-21T23:20:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T23:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/152751\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T23:20:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T23:20:07","slug":"trump-and-mamdani-form-an-unlikely-alliance-at-white-house-meeting-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/152751\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump and Mamdani form an unlikely alliance at White House meeting \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump<\/a> and Zohran Mamdani<\/a>, the New York City mayor-elect, walked out of their meeting Friday afternoon with an unlikely alliance, agreeing to work together on housing, food prices and cost-of-living concerns that have defined their political appeals to working-class voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe agreed a lot more than I would have thought,\u201d Mr Trump said in the Oval Office, sometimes jumping in to shield Mr Mamdani from aggressive questioning from the press.<\/p>\n

The sit-down, which many had anticipated would be contentious, given months of intense rhetoric in which Mr Trump branded Mr Mamdani a \u201ccommunist lunatic\u201d \u2013 instead produced camaraderie, warm words and concrete pledges of co-operation between the Republican president and the self-described democratic socialist who secured a commanding electoral victory earlier at the beginning of November with over 50 per cent of the vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very confident that he can do a very good job,\u201d Mr Trump said to the press after the meeting, offering praise for his ideological opposite. \u201cThe better he does, the happier I am. I will say there\u2019s no difference in party. There\u2019s no difference in anything, and we\u2019re going to be helping him to make everybody\u2019s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US president congratulated Mr Mamdani on his mayoral victory, describing it as \u201can incredible race against smart people\u201d \u2013 and the two politicians shook hands.<\/p>\n

Trump said he had already seen signs the young politician might surprise conservative and liberal observers alike.<\/p>\n

For Mr Mamdani, the meeting represented vindication of his strategy to focus the discussion on economic issues rather than ideological divides. He described the meeting as \u201cproductive\u201d and \u201cfocused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spoke about rent, we spoke about groceries, we spoke about utilities, we spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out,\u201d Mr Mamdani told reporters after emerging from the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

Trump said: \u201cWe had some interesting conversation, and some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have.\u201d He pointed to their agreement on lowering crime and building housing.<\/p>\n

The meeting marked the first face-to-face discussion between the combative Republican president and the defiant democratic socialist. <\/p>\n

For Mr Mamdani, a leftwing state assembly member until his shock primary victory, the sit-down presented an early test of his ability to negotiate with a president who controls vast federal resources that the city depends upon. Mr Mamdani\u2019s team made the first move in reaching out for a meeting, all while Mr Trump earlier threatened to withhold federal funding from New York if Mr Mamdani took office, though he has since suggested a more conciliatory posture, telling Fox News: \u201cI\u2019m so torn, because I would like to see the new mayor do well, because I love New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

The administration has deployed multiple pressure tactics before the meeting. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have signalled plans to escalate operations in New York City, while a number of rightwing congressional Republicans suggested investigating whether Mamdani\u2019s citizenship is valid, despite his naturalisation in 2018 after immigrating from Uganda as a child.<\/p>\n

Mr Mamdani\u2019s team spent Thursday preparing for the encounter through calls with Kathy Hochul, New York\u2019s governor, Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, and the civil rights leader Al Sharpton to strategise the approach. He also spoke with Robert Wolf, the former chief executive of UBS Americas and a known ally of Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

When asked on Thursday whether he feared receiving hostile treatment similar to the contentious Oval Office meeting between Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine\u2019s president, earlier this year \u2013 where Mr Trump accused Zelenskiy of \u201cgambling with World War three\u201d \u2013 Mamdani brushed aside concerns. \u201cI\u2019ll stand up for New Yorkers every single day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The incoming mayor had framed the meeting as an opportunity to advance his central campaign platform: making New York more affordable. His promises include free public buses, government-run grocery stores, rent freezes for more than 1m stabilised units, and the city\u2019s first universal childcare program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI view this meeting as an opportunity for me to make my case,\u201d Mr Mamdani said on Thursday. \u201cIt behoves me to ensure that I leave no stone unturned in looking to make this city more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, similarly said Mr Trump\u2019s willingness to meet was evidence of his openness to dialogue across political divides.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and to try to do what\u2019s right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states, or blue cities,\u201d Mr Leavitt said.<\/p>\n

But the underlying tensions were not subtle. Mr Trump got directly involved in the mayoral election, dismissing the candidate from his own party, Curtis Sliwa, as a lightweight and instead endorsing Andrew Cuomo, the Independent, formerly Democratic governor, while branding Mamdani a \u201clittle communist\u201d. The Trump administration also yanked federal aid for critical infrastructure projects \u2013 including the Gateway Tunnel between New York and New Jersey and the Second Avenue subway line \u2013 during budget negotiations.<\/p>\n

Among New York voters, Trump garnered only 27 per cent approval compared with 70 per cent disapproval in CNN\u2019s exit polling from the mayoral election. However, 10 per cent of Trump\u2019s 2024 voters also cast ballots for Mamdani, suggesting there is indeed overlap in their populist economic messaging, despite their vast ideological differences. \u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n

US president Donald Trump<\/a> said he had a \u201cvery productive meeting\u201d with New York City\u2019s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just had a great … very productive meeting. We have one thing in common. We want this city of ours that we love to do very well,\u201d Mr Trump said in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe better he does, the happier I am … And we\u2019re going to be helping him to make everybody\u2019s dream come true,\u201d Mr Trump said.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump earlier predicted he would \u201cget along fine\u201d with incoming Mr Mamdani <\/p>\n

The meeting was the first in-person talks between political opposites who have clashed over everything from immigration to economic policy. <\/p>\n

A democratic socialist and little-known state lawmaker who won New York\u2019s mayoral race earlier this month, Mr Mamdani requested the sit-down with Mr Trump, at the White House, to discuss cost-of-living issues and public safety. <\/p>\n

The Republican president has issued threats to strip federal funding from the biggest US city, while the mayor-elect has regularly criticised a range of Mr Trump\u2019s policies, including plans to ramp up federal immigration enforcement efforts in New York City, where four in ten residents are foreign-born. The 79-year-old president, a former New York resident, has labelled Mr Mamdani (34) as a \u201cradical left lunatic,\u201d a communist and \u201cJew hater,\u201d without offering evidence for those assertions. <\/p>\n

Mr Trump tempered his language on Friday as the meeting drew near, saying he expected it to be \u201cquite civil\u201d and commending Mr Mamdani for a \u201csuccessful run\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hitting him a little hard,\u201d Mr Trump told The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News. \u201cI think we\u2019ll get along fine. Look, we\u2019re looking for the same thing: we want to make New York strong.\u201d Mr Mamdani posted a grinning selfie on social media, taken in the seat of a plane bound for Washington.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump\u2019s Oval Office meetings have been wildly unpredictable, including respectful encounters with opponents and ambushes of guests, such as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and South Africa\u2019s Cyril Ramaphosa. <\/p>\n

Mr Mamdani, who will be sworn in as mayor on January 1st, said at a press conference on Thursday he had \u201cmany disagreements with the president\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI intend to make it clear to president Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers,\u201d he told reporters outside New York\u2019s City Hall. \u201cIf an agenda hurts New Yorkers, I will also be the first to say so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uganda-born Mr Mamdani will be the first Muslim and first South Asian mayor in the city that is home to Wall Street. His energetic, social media-savvy campaign provoked debate about the best path for Democrats. <\/p>\n

Out of power in Washington and divided ideologically, Democrats are mainly unified by their opposition to Mr Trump, who is constitutionally prohibited from seeking another term in 2028. Mr Mamdani vowed to focus on affordability issues, including the cost of housing, groceries, childcare and buses in a city of 8.5 million people. New Yorkers pay nearly double the average rent nationwide. <\/p>\n

Inflation has been a big issue for Americans, and it\u2019s one on which they give Mr Trump low marks. Just 26 per cent of Americans say Mr Trump is doing a good job at managing the cost of living, said a Reuters\/Ipsos poll this week. The US federal government is providing $7.4 billion to New York City in fiscal year 2026, or about 6.4 per cent of the city\u2019s total spending, said a New York state Comptroller report. It was not clear what legal authority Mr Trump could claim for withholding any funding mandated by Congress.<\/p>\n

The two leaders traded barbs after the election. \u201cIf anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,\u201d Mr Mamdani told supporters in his victory speech, which called for Mr Trump to \u201cturn the volume up\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump said he was puzzled by Mr Mamdani\u2019s speech after excerpts were replayed to him during the Fox News interview on Friday morning. \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly what he means by \u2018turning the volume up\u2019. He has to be careful when he says that to me,\u201d Mr Trump said. \u201cHe was very nice in calling, as you know, and we\u2019re going to have a meeting.\u201d <\/p>\n

For Mr Mamdani, a left-wing state assembly member until his shock primary victory, the sit-down presents an early test of his ability to negotiate with a president who controls vast federal resources that the city depends upon. Mr Mamdani\u2019s team made the first move in reaching out for a meeting, all while Mr Trump earlier threatened to withhold federal funding from New York if Mr Mamdani took office, though he has since suggested a more conciliatory posture, telling Fox News: \u201cI\u2019m so torn, because I would like to see the new mayor do well, because I love New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

The administration has deployed multiple pressure tactics before the meeting. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have signalled plans to escalate operations in New York City, while a number of right-wing Congressional Republicans suggested investigating whether Mamdani\u2019s citizenship is valid, despite his naturalisation in 2018 after immigrating from Uganda as a child.<\/p>\n

Mr Mamdani\u2019s team spent Thursday preparing for the encounter through calls with Kathy Hochul, New York\u2019s governor, Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, and civil rights leader Al Sharpton to strategise the approach. He also spoke with Robert Wolf, the former chief executive of UBS Americas and a known ally of Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who else will be present for the meeting.<\/p>\n

The incoming mayor has framed the meeting as an opportunity to advance his central campaign platform: making New York more affordable. His promises include free public buses, government-run grocery stores, rent freezes for over one million stabilised units, and the city\u2019s first universal childcare programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cI view this meeting as an opportunity for me to make my case,\u201d Mr Mamdani said on Thursday. \u201cIt behoves me to ensure that I leave no stone unturned in looking to make this city more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, similarly said Mr Trump\u2019s willingness to meet is evidence of his openness to dialogue across political divides.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and to try to do what\u2019s right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states, or blue cities,\u201d Leavitt said.<\/p>\n

But the underlying tensions are not subtle. Mr Trump got directly involved in the mayoral election, dismissing the candidate from his own party, Curtis Sliwa, as a lightweight and instead endorsing Andrew Cuomo, the Independent, formerly Democratic governor, while branding Mr Mamdani a \u201clittle communist\u201d. The Trump administration also yanked federal aid for critical infrastructure projects \u2013 including the Gateway Tunnel between New York and New Jersey and the Second Avenue subway line \u2013 during budget negotiations. = Guardian\/Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, walked out of their meeting Friday afternoon with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[969,42,43,40,38,41,39,115,20922],"class_list":{"0":"post-152751","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-zohran-mamdani"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}