Name: Trump and Mamdani find common ground after trading barbs for months
Uploaded: 2025-11-22T00:24:01.096Z
Duration: 3 min 3 s
Description: After trading barbs for months, President Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani struck a remarkably different tone when they spoke to reporters in the Oval Office following their White House meeting. Nancy Cordes has details.

After trading barbs for months, President Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani struck a remarkably different tone when they spoke to reporters in the Oval Office following their White House meeting. Nancy Cordes has details.

Washington

President Donald Trump and New York mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani, who have previously exchanged harsh public criticisms, met at the White House and reached a surprising truce. Despite their opposing political backgrounds, both leaders expressed agreement on priorities such as reducing crime, increasing housing, and lowering rents in New York City.

The meeting was notably cordial, with both Trump and Mamdani exchanging compliments and pledging to focus on shared goals for the city. Trump also defended Mamdani against recent political attacks and indicated a willingness to support him moving forward.

Trump and Mamdani find common ground after trading barbs for months

Good evening, I'm Maurice DuBois. John Dickerson is off tonight. They are two very different New Yorkers, Donald Trump and Zoran Mamdani, one native born, one an immigrant, one a conservative Republican, the other a democratic socialist. The president has called the mayor-elect a communist lunatic. Mamdani has called the president a despot with a fascist agenda. And when they met at the White House today, they found common ground, the city they both love. Nancy Cordes is at the White House where it was a love fest, Nancy. Maurice, these two men have been publicly at odds over everything from ice raids to taxes. And so today, both New York and Washington were braced for an Oval Office slugfest. Instead, we got the opposite. Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. I appreciate it. The new political odd couple grinned and traded compliments after brokering a startling truce behind closed doors. We had a meeting today that actually surprised me. He wants to see no crime. He wants to see housing being built. He wants to see rents coming down, all things that I agree with. President Trump and mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani have traded insults from afar for months. We turned out to have a communist in New York City. Will we sit idly by as an authoritarian president like Donald Trump attacks the very fabric of this democracy, the very fabric of this city? Trump even threatened to pull federal funding for New York City if Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, got elected. He needs the money through the White House. He needs a lot. But after Mamdani won big this month, he asked to meet with Trump, who, like him, is a New Yorker and, like him, wooed voters by vowing to lower costs. When we spoke to those voters who voted for President Trump, we heard them speak about cost of living. Are we focused on that same cost of living? I mean, he's got views out there, but who knows? I mean, we're going to see what works or he's going to change also. We all change. I change a lot. Their detente scrambles politics in Congress, where Democratic leaders have kept their distance from Mamdani and Republican leaders had been hoping to make him the far-left face of the opposition in 2026. I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he's going to be, I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually. Today, Trump even came to Mamdani's rescue when a reporter asked about some pointed past attacks. Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist? I've spoken about. That's okay. You can just say yes. Okay. It's easier. It's easier than explaining it. I don't mind. Republicans have been especially critical of Mamdani's views on Israel. Trump ally Elise Stefanik even called him a jihadist. Today, Trump rejected that explosive charge and said the Mamdani he met was rational and that for now, he plans to help him, not hurt him.

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