Washington (Somalia Today) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday welcomed New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to the Oval Office, turning a long-running feud into a rare display of cooperation.
The two men, who spent years trading insults, now cast themselves as partners on housing, public safety, and the cost of living in the city they share. It was their first face-to-face meeting since Mamdani’s upset victory in the mayoral race earlier this month.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and previously little-known state lawmaker, requested the meeting to press Trump on affordability issues facing New York’s 8.5 million residents.
Trump, a Republican and former New Yorker, used the encounter to show he can work with a sharp critic. The two have clashed for months over immigration and federal funding for the city.
From feud to handshake
For years, Trump and Mamdani treated each other as political enemies. Trump branded the 34-year-old Uganda-born politician a “radical left communist,” and even a “Jew hater,” without offering evidence.
Mamdani, a progressive Muslim immigrant, told supporters he was “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare” and accused the president of behaving like an authoritarian and a fascist.
That history was largely set aside on Friday. Sitting behind the Resolute Desk, Trump smiled as Mamdani stood to his right and praised the mayor-elect’s victory over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“He really ran an incredible race against some very tough people, very smart people,” Trump said. “We agreed on a lot more than I thought. We have one thing in common: we want this city of ours that we love to do very well.”
Mamdani, who will be sworn in on January 1 as New York’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor, echoed that message.
“It was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City, and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers,” he told reporters after the talks.
At several moments, Trump even moved to shield his guest. When a reporter asked Mamdani whether he still believed Trump was acting like a despot, the president stepped in before he could answer. “I’ve been called much worse than a despot,” Trump said, prompting laughter in the room.
When another journalist questioned Mamdani’s decision to fly to Washington instead of using lower-emissions transport, Trump again cut in: “I’ll stick up for you.”
Affordability at the center
Both sides said the discussion focused on the cost of living. They talked about housing affordability, rising grocery prices, childcare costs, and bus fares.
Mamdani’s campaign tapped into deep anger over rents that are nearly double the national average and basic bills that have outpaced wages.
Trump, who won the 2024 election after promising to tame inflation, has since received low marks from Americans on his handling of everyday prices. The Oval Office meeting gave him a chance to show he is listening to voters in his hometown’s largest city.
“Some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have,” Trump said, referring to Mamdani’s plans on housing and essential services.
He argued that the responsibility of running a large government reshapes how politicians think. Both men, he suggested, would now be judged more on delivery than ideology.
Mamdani said he went to Washington to explore “any agenda that benefits New Yorkers,” while stressing that he will oppose policies he believes hurt the city.
“I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers,” he said. “If an agenda hurts New Yorkers, I will also be the first to say so.”
New York relies heavily on federal money. The U.S. government is expected to provide about $7.4 billion to the city in fiscal year 2026, or roughly 6.4% of total spending, according to a New York State Comptroller report cited during the meeting.
It remains unclear what legal authority Trump would have to withhold funds already mandated by Congress, even though he has repeatedly raised that threat in public.
Tensions below the surface
The cordial tone in the Oval Office marked a sharp contrast to Trump’s language during the mayoral campaign. He predicted New York had “ZERO chance of success, or even survival” if Mamdani won and questioned the citizenship of the Uganda-born candidate, despite his status as a naturalized American.
Trump also warned that he could cut off federal funding if Mamdani followed through on promises not to cooperate with immigration agents in the city, where four in ten residents are foreign-born.
Mamdani showed his own hard edge on the trail. In one televised debate, he pointed to a woman in the audience who had accused Cuomo of sexual harassment. The moment underscored his willingness to confront powerful rivals in public. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing.
Given that history, some observers expected fireworks at the White House. Trump has used the Oval Office for unpredictable encounters, including a tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in March.
In May, he held a dimly lit session with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. He played a video making widely rejected claims about attacks on white farmers.
This time, the drama did not appear. A senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the president had not put extensive planning into the meeting and that the threat to tighten federal funds for New York “remains on the table.”
Even so, Trump told reporters he did not expect to follow through. “We don’t want that to happen. I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said.
Managing a fragile partnership
Looking ahead, Mamdani signalled he is preparing for a complicated relationship with Washington.
On the eve of his trip, he told reporters outside New York’s City Hall that he had “many disagreements with the president” but would still seek common ground. After Friday’s meeting, both men insisted they had found it.
“The better he does, the happier I am,” Trump said, referring to Mamdani’s incoming administration. Mamdani suggested simple measures will judge any partnership: whether it makes New York “stronger, more affordable and safer” for the people who live there.
For now, as Trump welcomes Mamdani to the national stage, both men are betting that cooperation will serve them better than open conflict.
