Trump-Mamdani Meeting at White House Was Full of Surprises

[Uncle Joe]

After months of mutual animosity, President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani met for the first time in a widely anticipated meeting late last week. But after the two discussed Mamdani’s plans to lower the cost of living in New York City, where both men grew up, Trump said that he and Mamdani “agree on a lot more than I would have thought” and promised to work together once Mamdani takes office in January. The newly friendly relationship is likely temporary, but still “remarkable,” says Ross Barkan, who is writing a book about Mamdani’s rapid political rise. “If Trump is less antagonistic towards Mamdani, the idea is to have Trump do as little damage as possible to New York City,” Barkan says of Mamdani’s conciliatory approach to the meeting. “He’s not going to attack. He’s going to try to build coalitions.”