Brian Kilmeade thinks Vice President JD Vance could be jealous of Mamdani(Image: Getty Images)
It looks as though President Donald Trump may have struck up an unlikely friendship with Zohran Mamdani.
Following the rather successful meeting between the president and the New York City mayor-elect, Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade joked that the friendly interaction between the pair may have left JD Vance “jealous.” Trump, 79, welcomed Mamdami, 34, for a closed-door meeting with reporters in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, with the Republican complimenting the Democratic socialist as a “very rational person.”
Trump continued to take much of the air out of Republicans’ attacks on the democratic socialist by saying he would feel comfortable living in New York under Mamdani’s administration and that “some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have.”
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During what many thought would be a tense meeting, President Trump was seen smiling at Mamdani multiple times during the press conference. The two shook hands when it was over, with Trump patting him on the arm and slapping him on the hand twice.
After clips of the meeting aired on Fox News, host Kilmeade suggested, “I think JD Vance is jealous. I think the president wants to use him as a running mate,” even though Trump is barred from serving a third term. “They got along fantastic,” he added.
Donald Trump meets with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (Image: Getty Images)
“This was a love-fest,” the Fox anchor later pointed out before dubbing the meeting a “respect-fest.” While Vance hasn’t admitted to being envious of his boss’ newfound bond, he took to X to speak out about his favorite moment from the meeting.
“POTUS has a lot of good moments but this is an all-timer,” he wrote in response to Trump telling Mamdani he has no problem with him calling him a “fascist” when a reporter asked the New York City mayor to clarify some of his prior comments.
“That’s OK, you can just say that stuff,” Trump said during the meeting, clarifying, “It’s easier—it’s easier than explaining it.”
Trump, who had called Mamdani a “communist lunatic” and “not very smart” in the weeks leading up to their first interaction, claimed that the 34-year-old is “going to change” once he’s in office.
“I changed a lot,” Trump admitted, adding, “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”
Brian Kilmeade gave his verdict on the meeting on Fox News
Speaking exclusively to Express US, body language expert Judi James also picked up on the connection between Trump and Mamdani. She noticed, “Trump’s signals towards the new mayor do seem to thaw as the session goes on and he appears keen to suggest some form of bonhomie with him. There is some joking and a constant drawing of the narrative back to things they agree on rather than points of disagreement.
“And Trump starts the friendly power pats coming. There is a truncated pat as he jokes the Mayor can ignore one tricky question, but then there is quite a hearty slap on the arm, plus an even harder slap on the top of Mamdani’s hand as they clasp hands for another shake,” Judi went on.
She explained, “These pats and slaps from Trump seem to signal a mix of superior power but also that he has got the measure of the Mayor and can maybe do business with him.”
When it came to reporters’ questioning of Trump, he answered “no” when asked if he viewed Mamdani as a “jihadist” – a description used by an ally running for New York governor.
“I met with a man who’s a very rational person,” Trump gushed, adding, “I met with a man who really wants to see New York be great again.”