WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump called incoming New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani a “100% communist lunatic” and a “total nut job.” mamdani called Trump administration is “authoritarian” and described himself as “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare.”
So their first meetingScheduled for Friday at 3pm EST at the White House, it could prove to be a curious and flammable event.
Despite playing each other as chief adversaries for months, the Republican president and rising Democratic star also indicated they are open to finding areas of agreement to help the city they both call home.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who will take office in January, said he has sought a meeting with President Trump to discuss ways to make New York City more affordable. President Trump said he might want to help Mamdani, even though he falsely labeled him a “communist” and threatened to pull federal funds from his homeland.
But for both men, the talks offer a cross-disciplinary opportunity with the potential for bipartisan agreement.
The two are convenient political foils for each other, and taking on the role of the other could excite supporters.
Trump is looming large over this year’s mayoral race, endorsing independent candidate and former Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo on the eve of the election, predicting that if Mamdani wins, the city has “zero chance of success or even survival.” He also questioned the citizenship of Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a naturalized American after graduating from college, saying he would be arrested if he followed through on threats of not cooperating with immigration authorities in the city.
Mamdani described Cuomo as the president’s “puppet” and rejected Cuomo’s challenge, saying he would be “the mayor who stands up to Donald Trump and actually gets results.” “I’m Donald Trump’s worst nightmare as a progressive Muslim immigrant who actually fights for what I believe in,” he declared in one primary debate.
The president, who has long used political opponents to enrage his supporters, predicted that Mamdani “will be one of the best things that ever happened to the great Republican Party.” Mamdani defeated Cuomo and upended the Democratic Party. His far-left progressive policies caused internal strifePresident Trump has repeatedly made Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party.
For Mamdani, the meeting with the U.S. president provides a chance for the state lawmaker, until recently a relative unknown, to square off against the most powerful man in the world.
The meeting is a high-profile opportunity to talk about affordability as President Trump faces increased political pressure to show he is addressing voters’ concerns about the cost of living.
However, that is only if the meeting does not run into difficulties.
Opportunity for Oval Office drama
It was not immediately clear whether cameras would be allowed at the meeting. Although it was not disclosed in Trump’s daily schedule, the president often invites a small number of reporters at the last minute.
Presidents have had some dramatic showdowns in the Oval Office this year. Passionate exchange with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in March. In May, President Trump dimmed the lights during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Played a 4 minute video It has made widely rejected claims that South Africa violently persecutes its own people. minority afrikaner white farmers.
A senior Trump administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions, said Mr. Trump had not given much thought to plans to meet with the mayor-elect, but said his threat to block federal funds from coming to New York remained on the table.
Mamdani said on Thursday. he didn’t care He mentioned the possibility that the president was trying to use the meeting to publicly embarrass him, and while he acknowledged “many disagreements with the president,” he said he saw this as an opportunity to make his case.
If the president uses the meeting as a public showdown, Mamdani may be prepared on his own.
Like Trump, he was a relative political outsider who won with a populist message promising a break from the establishment and was known for his deft command of the spotlight and unique use of social media.
Mamdani, who lives in Queens, where President Trump grew up, also shows a ruthless personality. During a televised debate with Mr. Cuomo during the campaign, Mr. Cuomo appeared to borrow a strategy from Mr. Trump when he pointed out that a woman in the audience who had accused the former governor of sexual harassment was in the audience. Mr. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing.
The moment was reminiscent of Trump’s tactics before his 2016 debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton, when she appeared with her husband, former President Bill Clinton’s accusers, to deny the accusations against him.
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madani in Washington and Anthony Yzaguirre in New York contributed to this report.
