NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump met in the Oval Office Friday, discussing topics around affordability and safety in New York City, appearing cordial despite trading barbs for months.
The Oval Office meeting marked the first time that Mamdani and Trump have met face to face following a war of words between the two leaders throughout Mamdani’s campaign and election.
“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,” Mamdani said.
WATCH FULL REMARKS | Trump and Mamdani speak of ‘strong’ and ‘safe’ NY after White House meeting
Watch the full remarks from Zohran Mamdani and President Trump after their Oval Office meeting on Friday.
He said the two spoke about common goals like crime, rent, groceries and utility process. He said he appreciated the time and looked forward to delivering affordability.
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“Working people have been left behind in New York. In the wealthiest city in the world, one in five can’t afford $2.90 for the train or bus. As I told Trump today- it’s time to put those people right back at the heart of our politics,” said Mamdani in a post on X after the meeting.
At every turn, Trump and Mamdani fell over themselves complementing each other during the post-meeting press conference. Trump, who did most of the talking during the 30-minute availability, even leapt to his defense at times, calling Mamdani a “rational” person who wants to make New York great again.
“I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor,” Trump said, promising to help Mamdani “make everybody’s dream come true.”
“The better he does, the happier I am,” Trump added.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
The president also brushed aside Mamdani’s criticisms of him over his administration’s deportation raids and claims that Trump was behaving like a despot. Instead, Trump said the responsibility of holding an executive position in the government causes a person to change, saying that had been the case for him.
“He’s got views that are a little out there, but people change. I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually,” said Trump, who later seemed to take little umbrage when reporters asked Mamdani to clarify his past statements indicating that he thought the president was acting like a fascist.
The meeting focused “not on disagreement but shared purpose” they have in serving New Yorkers and not on their differences.
“We discussed crime more than ICE, per se. He doesn’t want to see crime, I don’t want to see crime,” Trump said.
When asked if he would feel comfortable living in New York City under the Mamdani administration, Trump said he would be very comfortable, and even more so after the meeting.
He also praised Mamdani for retaining Jessica Tisch, who he called a great police commissioner, noting Tisch is a good friend of his daughter Ivanka Trump.
The president and mayor-elect’s remarks post-meeting, come in stark contrast to their public comments over the past several months, in which Trump has slammed Mamdani, falsely labeling him as a “communist” and predicting the ruin of his hometown, New York, if the Democratic Socialist was elected. He also threatened to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a naturalized American citizen, and to pull federal money from the city.
ABC News Political Director Averi Harper analyzes the Oval Office meeting held between Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump on Friday.
Local lawmakers react to Mamdani and Trump’s meeting
Several prominent New York lawmakers reacted to the meeting, including Governor Kathy Hochul, who welcomed “President Trump’s renewed commitment today to New York’s success and his acknowledgment of our shared priorities: lowering costs and improving public safety.”
“I also appreciate that the President rejected efforts by members of his own party to weaponize the mayor-elect’s background, faith, and identity for political gain, including the Islamophobic attacks labeling him a ‘jihadist.’ There’s no place for rhetoric like that in our politics or in New York,” Hochul said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said Mamdani “showed why he is ready to lead our city.”
In a post on social media, Mayor Eric Adams spokesperson Fabien Levy said the meeting “Sounds a lot like @NYCMayor@ericadamsfornycsaying he wants to ‘work with the president, not war with him,’ but then the legacy media had a meltdown.”
Meanwhile, Republican candidate for governor, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, called Mamdani “Kathy Hochul’s jihadist.”
“We all want NYC to succeed. But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one,” she said in a statement. “If he walks like a jihadist, if he talks like a jihadist, if he campaigns like a jihadist, if he supports jihadists, he’s a jihadist.”
Mamdani rose from an obscure state lawmaker to become a social media star and symbol of the resistance against Trump during his mayoral campaign. He campaigned on an array of progressive policies and a message that was stark in its opposition to the aggressive, anti-immigrant agenda Trump has rolled out in his second White House term.
The 34-year-old appealed to a broad cross-section of New Yorkers and defeated one of its political heavyweights, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
In his election night victory speech, Mamdani said he wanted New York to show the country how to defeat the president. But the day after, while speaking about his plans for “Trump-proofing” New York once he takes office in January, the incoming mayor also said he was willing to work with anyone, including the president, if it can help New Yorkers.
Political observers say both men know New York needs Washington, and Washington needs New York.
(ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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