Fatimah Otunsanya
United States President Donald Trump said he will host New York’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for a meeting on Friday, after fiercely attacking the 34-year-old self-described Democratic Socialist during his recent campaign.
Trump, while repeating his false claim that Mamdani is a “communist,” said on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday night that the meeting “will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st.”
Mamdani’s spokesperson, Dora Pekec, confirmed the meeting in a statement.
“As is customary for an incoming mayoral administration, the Mayor-elect plans to meet with the President in Washington to discuss public safety, economic security and the affordability agenda that over one million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago,” Pekec said Wednesday.
Trump’s meeting with Mamdani marks the coming together of two men raised in the Queens borough of New York, but their similarities may end there.
While Trump frequently touts the record-breaking gains on Wall Street during his presidency, Mamdani’s view on the economy extends beyond the bullish financial markets in downtown Manhattan to an affordability crisis facing a city of over 8 million people.
As the first mayoral candidate to surpass the one-million-vote mark in New York since 1969, Mamdani campaigned on pledges of affordable housing and childcare, as well as free rides on city buses and city-run grocery stores.
Experts have questioned Mamdani’s ability to deliver on his idealistic and broad-reaching platform.
Virulently anti-immigrant Trump has derided Mamdani’s South Asian name and threatened to cut federal funding for New York upon the Muslim’s election to run America’s largest city.
“Mandami, whatever the hell his name is,” Trump said recently, deliberately mispronouncing the Uganda-born politician’s surname.
Mamdani has not backed down from Trump, calling out the 79-year-old Republican during his victory rally earlier this month.
“Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you — turn the volume up!” he said to his cheering supporters.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed the president had indeed watched Mamdani speak.