Mamdani Backs Down, Plans To Call Trump Before Taking Office
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — the far-left Democratic socialist set to take over New York City on Jan. 1 — says he plans to reach out to President Donald J. Trump before taking office, signaling that even he understands the city won’t survive without cooperation from the White House.
Speaking to NBC New York, Mamdani acknowledged that maintaining a healthy relationship with President Trump “will be critical to the success of the city,” despite spending his campaign promising sweeping progressive reforms and railing against federal law-and-order policies.
“I will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office,” Mamdani said, without offering a specific timeline, according to the New York Post. He insisted he would be “proactive” when dealing with Trump’s tough immigration and crime enforcement agenda.
And while he tried to strike a cooperative tone, Mamdani also telegraphed the combative posture New Yorkers should expect:
“[If] President Trump wants to speak about lowering the cost of living or delivering cheaper groceries, like he ran on [in 2024], I’m there to have that conversation… And if [the administration’s policies] are to the expense of those New Yorkers, I will fight.”
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to get ahead of the president’s response, telling The Post, “I’ll let the president respond himself to that comment by Mr. Mamdani.”
Trump: “It would be more appropriate for him to reach out to us.”
Before the Nov. 4 election, President Trump warned he might consider withholding federal funds from New York City — or even pursuing a federal takeover — if voters installed a self-described socialist at City Hall.
After Mamdani’s victory, Trump struck a measured note while making it clear who sets the terms.
“I hope it works out for New York” and “we’ll help him a little bit, maybe,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier.
“He has to be a little bit respectful of Washington because if he’s not, he doesn’t have a chance of succeeding… I want to make the city succeed.”
The president added that he had no plans to contact Mamdani, saying: “It would be more appropriate for him to reach out to us… I’m here.”
Mamdani also said he has been in touch with Gov. Kathy Hochul to discuss how to manage Trump’s criticism — a notable admission given Hochul’s increasingly strained relationship with her own party’s far-left flank.
Mamdani elevates architect of controversial “social-worker-instead-of-police” plan
The mayor-elect’s latest staffing announcement underscores just how radical his administration may be.
Mamdani named his longtime adviser Elle Bisgaard-Church as his incoming chief adviser at City Hall — the same strategist widely credited as the “chief architect” of his plan to send social workers, rather than police officers, to certain non-violent 911 calls.
The proposal — deeply controversial and sharply criticized by public-safety advocates — was crafted by Bisgaard-Church, an Ivy League-educated California transplant and member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She developed the idea after consulting mental-health professionals, outside public-safety officials, and even former NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison, according to Fox News and CBS News.
Mamdani’s own website estimates the cost of the new Department of Community Safety at $1.1 billion, a staggering figure for a city already struggling with crime, disorder, and a budget crisis.
Bisgaard-Church also helped coordinate regular strategy meetings between the campaign and the New York City chapter of the DSA, solidifying the alliance that powered Mamdani’s rise — and now appears poised to shape his administration from day one.