New York’s newly elected mayor Zohran Mamdani is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. After several weeks of back-and-forth verbal attacks, the two will finally sit down together at the White House on Friday (21 November), according to a BBC report.
Trump said in a statement that the “communist mayor” had requested the meeting and that it would take place in the Oval Office.
The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist Mamdani defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo by nine points in the New York City mayoral election earlier this month. Though relatively lesser-known outside New York before the election, he has now emerged as a nationally recognized figure.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mamdani said that the meeting would focus on public safety, affordability of living, and economic security. “If any issue benefits New Yorkers, I will work with President Trump. And if any agenda harms New Yorkers, I will be the first to oppose it,” he said.
Mamdani’s spokesperson Dora Pekecz said that such meetings between a mayor and the president are normal. However, his predecessors—Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams—did not participate in high-profile, one-on-one Oval Office meetings; they attended meetings at the White House alongside other mayors and officials.
Mamdani further said on Thursday, “I know that for millions of New Yorkers, this meeting represents two completely different candidates whom they voted for for the same reason—leadership to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.”
He has hired additional legal counsel to prepare for legal battles against Trump’s strict immigration policies and has vowed that New York will remain a “city of immigrants” despite nationwide crackdowns.
Tensions between the two-term President Trump and the newcomer mayor have been growing since June, right after Mamdani won the Democratic primary.
Trump has repeatedly mocked Mamdani as the “communist” future of the Democratic Party and even threatened to cut billions of dollars in federal support to the nation’s largest city if Mamdani won.
In the weeks leading up to the election, Trump—himself born in New York—often portrayed Mamdani as an extremist “who has hardly ever worked in his life.” In a last-minute surprise, he endorsed Mamdani’s opponent Cuomo, a Democrat running as an independent.
In his victory speech, Mamdani did not miss the chance to take a jab at Trump, saying, “Turn up the volume on your television.” Trump quickly responded on his social media platform within minutes, writing, “And so, it begins!”
