Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani revealed the weirdest thing he saw during his chummy meeting with President Trump was a “coffee table book” about the upcoming UFC at the White House event.
The cordial nature of the summit between the democratic socialist Mamdani and Republican president on Friday surprised many political pundits — but the mayor-elect’s biggest surprise came during a tour of the White House. he said during a recent talk show appearance..
“What was the weirdest thing he showed you?” host Adam Friedland asked Mamdani during an appearance on “The Adam Friedland Show” that was posted online Tuesday.
Mamdani revealed the ‘weirdest’ thing he saw at the White House last week on ‘The Adam Friedland Show.’ AP
“He had to have shown you something – one thing weird,” Friedland, a comedian, added.
Mamdani described Trump taking him on a tour through the Cabinet Room, where portraits of former presidents are displayed.
The White House is set to host a UFC fight in June of 2026. Stephen Yang
“The FDR was beautiful,” Mamdani said of the image of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “We talked about FDR for a little bit.”
The most peculiar thing the mayor-elect recalled, though, was the book that was in the waiting area of the Oval Office.
“In front of me are like, all these different coffee table books, and one of them is UFC at the White House,” Mamdani said.
“Oh yeah he’s bringing it there, right?” asked Friedland.
The meeting between Trump and Mamdani was surprisingly pleasant and cordial. Yuri Gripas/UPI/Shutterstock
An Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament is set to take place on White House grounds in June 2026 but Mamdani claimed he had “no idea” about the first-of-its-kind event in the pipeline, which is meant to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.
UFC President and CEO Dana White — who has been a long-time Trump supporter — has claimed the event will host about 5,000 spectators.
Mamdani said he “was flipping through” the book while waiting for his meeting with the President, looking at visualizations of what the octagon ring will look like on the south lawn of the White House.
White said the UFC will spend $700,000 to replace the grass on the south lawn following next Summer’s event, according to the Sports Business Journal.