President Trump took off the table the possibility of slashing federal funding for New York and vowed to actually be “a big help” to the city after an extraordinarily cordial meeting with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday.
The sympatico tone marked a shocking turnaround for Trump, who has for months smeared Mamdani as “a communist” and threatened to cut federal funding for New York, flood the city with ICE agents and take other punitive steps after the incoming mayor’s sworn in Jan. 1.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon after a more than hour-long sitdown with Mamdani, Trump said he’s no longer looking to make good on the funding threat and admitted he was “actually surprised” by how “rational” the soon-to-be mayor is and how much they agree on.
“We’re going to be helping him to make everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York,” Trump, who was seated behind the Resolute Desk, told reporters as Mamdani stood next to him.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Donald Trump meets with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office on Friday. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has accused Trump of holding fascist leanings, returned the favor by suggesting he and the Republican commander-in-chief could recreate what President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia did in implementing “New Deal” reforms in the city in the 1930s.
“Thinking about what it can look like when the federal government and New York City government work together to deliver on affordability, it can be transformative,” Mamdani said.
In an especially remarkable moment, Trump interrupted Mamdani after a reporter asked the mayor-elect if he still considers the president “a fascist.”
“That’s okay, you can just say yes,” Trump butted in as Mamdani began answering the question. “It’s easier than explaining it,” Trump added with a chuckle while patting Mamdani on the arm.
Trump played similarly nice when asked if he’s offended by the fact that Mamdani has labeled him a “despot.”
“I’ve been called much worse than a despot,” he said, “so it’s not that insulting.”
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