Mamdani to Visit White House, Will Meet With Trump
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is attempting to strike a conciliatory pose with the White House ahead of his first meeting with President Donald Trump, saying Thursday that despite deep ideological divides, he is willing to cooperate with the administration whenever it benefits the city’s residents.
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist whose victory has set off alarms among moderates and Republicans alike, is scheduled to meet with President Trump at 3 p.m. ET on Friday. The Oval Office visit follows his November 4 win in the nation’s largest city — a race that drew national attention thanks to his sweeping progressive agenda.
“I have many disagreements with the President, and I believe that we should be relentless and pursue all avenues and all meetings that can make our city affordable for every single New Yorker,” Mamdani told reporters, per NDTV.
“I intend to make it clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers. If an agenda hurts New Yorkers, I will also be the first to say so,” he added.
According to Mamdani, his incoming administration initiated the request for the White House meeting, arguing that “I will work with anyone to make life more affordable for the more than eight and a half million people who call this city home.” He added that such a meeting is customary for a newly elected New York City mayor “given the mutual reliance.”
The mayor-elect said the conversation comes at a critical moment as Americans nationwide grapple with affordability challenges and as major cities, including New York, face mounting concerns over public safety linked to policy decisions made under the current administration.
For Mamdani, Friday’s meeting represents what he described as a symbolic intersection of two starkly different political visions — both chosen by New Yorkers seeking relief from high living costs. He argued that voters backed “two very different candidates” — himself locally and Trump nationally — for the same underlying reason: economic pressure on working families.
President Trump, however, has been openly skeptical of Mamdani's approach. On Truth Social Wednesday night, he referred to the incoming mayor as the “communist” Mayor of New York City and confirmed the scheduled meeting: “Zohran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani, has asked for a meeting. We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st.”
The President repeatedly warned before Election Day that a Mamdani victory would be a “complete and total economic and social disaster” for New York City — a message he reiterated amid growing concerns about crime, immigration, and affordability under left-wing city leadership.
Mamdani’s victory speech did little to ease tensions. Celebrating his historic win as the city’s first South Asian and first Muslim mayor, he took aim at President Trump’s intensified immigration enforcement policies.
He proclaimed that New York would remain defined by its immigrant communities and now be “led by an immigrant.” Then, in a fiery rebuke of the President, he told supporters: “After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.”
“This is not only how we stop Trump; it’s how we stop the next one. So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up,” Mamdani added, drawing raucous applause from his base.
President Trump dismissed the remarks as “very angry,” saying the incoming mayor is “off to a bad start” and warning that he will struggle to govern effectively without respecting the federal partnership his city relies on.
Mamdani won the three-way race after months as the clear front-runner, defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — who mounted an independent comeback bid and received President Trump’s endorsement hours before polls closed.