Zohran Mamdani is back in New York City following his meeting with President Trump at the White House on Friday, where their unexpectedly friendly Oval Office news conference appeared to go off without a hitch.
The mayor-elect spoke to reporters Sunday morning outside a church in the Bronx, where he said the high-stakes meeting with the president was “productive” and focused on delivering for New Yorkers.
“I’ve been heartened by the responses I’ve received from New Yorkers across the five boroughs who were encouraged to see the focus on cost of living and the affordability crisis that so many are facing in this city, because too often when two politicians meet, the conversation rarely extends beyond them,” Mamdani said.
“I was appreciative of the tone”
Mr. Trump said Friday they had a “really good meeting” after the pair spoke privately inside the Oval Office and then held a joint news conference.
“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job,” said the president.
The men had publicly sparred for months, with the president falsely calling Mamdani a “communist,” and the mayor-elect vowing to “Trump-proof” the city in his election night victory speech.
“I was appreciative of the tone and the fact that both of us were looking to have a productive meeting,” Mamdani said Sunday.
Mamdani says he stands behind fascism remarks
One remarkable moment came when a reporter asked Mamdani about his comments calling Mr. Trump a “fascist,” and the president told him, “You can just say yes.”
During a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the mayor-elect said, “That’s something that I’ve said in the past, I say it today.”
“I think what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that has brought us to this moment. And we also wanted to focus on what it could look like to deliver on a shared analysis of an affordability crisis for New Yorkers,” said Mamdani.
He was asked in the Bronx what message it may send that he’s now posing for photos with the president.
“I think the responsibility I have as the mayor of the city is to work with anyone who can help to alleviate the affordability crisis and deliver dignity to each and every person that calls the city home, and I think it is critically important to both be honest about our own opinions, our own assessments, and be committed to working with anyone who could further that,” Mamdani replied.
Common ground around the cost of living
Before traveling to Washington, D.C., the mayor-elect said he planned to stay focused on affordability, noting that he and the president both campaigned on the issue. On Sunday, he said he’s “feeling good coming out of that meeting.”
“We spoke about things that all of us have been paying attention to for quite some time, whether we’re speaking about housing or public transit or child care,” said Mamdani.
There was much at stake in their meeting, including everything from federal funding for infrastructure projects to immigration enforcement protocols and the mayor-elect’s security clearances.
When asked whether he thinks Mr. Trump may send in federal troops or what this means for their relationship moving forward, Mamdani said he’s “confident that we’re establishing a productive relationship.”
“I can only take things one meeting at a time, one conversation at a time. And all I hoped to do in that conversation was to establish a working relationship and to have a productive meeting that focused on the work itself,” he added.
More on the issue of immigration
Mamdani went on to say they spoke about the city’s sanctuary policies, which he said allow the city government to coordinate with federal law enforcement on approximately 170 serious crimes.
“The concern comes from beyond those crimes, that many New Yorkers who at this moment are being arrested, they’re being detained, they are being deported for the crime of showing up to a regular court appearance at 26 Federal Plaza, for the crime of simply being present in New York City,” he said. “And how my focus as the next mayor of the city is going to be to protect immigrants who call the city their home and to deliver public safety to each and every New Yorker who lives across these five boroughs.”
The mayor-elect said they also spoke about NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch staying on as leader of the police department.
“One of the most recent decisions we made to retain Commissioner Tisch was one that actually came up in the conversation that I had with President Trump. It was one that he saw, as do I, as do many New Yorkers, as a reflection of the importance we’re placing on public safety,” he said.
