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President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will meet with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House, setting up a conversation between the two leaders on issues such as affordability and public safety.
Mamdani said last week that he intended to reach out to the administration, calling a working relationship with the president “critical to the success of the city.” Trump echoed that sentiment on Sunday, even as he noted Mamdani’s victory over former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
In announcing the upcoming meeting, Trump said Mamdani had contacted him but did not provide details on the expected agenda. Mamdani ran as a Democratic Socialist and won the November 4 mayoral race as the first Muslim mayor of New York City.
Mamdani campaigned on policies such as a rent freeze and free bus fares, proposals that have drawn criticism from Republicans, including President Trump.
“Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani, has asked for a meeting,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social late Wednesday. “We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st. Further details to follow!”
Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec told Politico that the meeting will cover public safety, economic security, and “the affordability agenda that over one million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago.”
The president previously suggested he might withhold federal funding if Mamdani won. The president compared federal support for New York to U.S. aid to Argentina, saying funding depends on adopting favorable policies.
“It’s a little like New York. We have a problem, we have a communist who’s 33 years old, he doesn’t know a damn thing, he’s never worked a day in his life. And he’s sort of caught on. I’m not going to send a lot of money to New York. I don’t have to,” President Trump said.
“The money comes all through the White House and if they’re going to be sending us stupid policies, communist policies, which is proven for thousands of years doesn’t work. We don’t have to prove it again. We’re not going to ruin one of our great cities. We will make that great, we will clean up the crime in about 30 days. It took 12 days to do Washington, D.C., so New York is bigger,” the president said.
