For months, President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and now the mayor-elect of New York City, as a “communist” and even threatened to have him arrested. Mamdani, meanwhile, condemned what he called Trump’s “fascist agenda.”
But their apparently cordial meeting in the White House on Friday surprised many — with their comments to the press often lingering on shared points of interest, rather than their opposing politics.
Here’s what Trump and Mamdani have previously said about each other and how it compares to their meeting Friday.
Mamdani’s ability and ideology
Then: Trump had described Mamdani as “a 100% Communist Lunatic” and a “total nut job.”
“We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous,” he wrote on Truth Social after Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary in June. “He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart.”
Now: Following his meeting with Mamdani at the White House on Friday, Trump told reporters Mamdani “ran an incredible race against a lot of smart people” and is “a very rational person” who wants to make New York City “greater than ever before.”
Trump admitted there are still areas of difference but emphasized that he could find common ground with Mamdani. “There will be topics that we disagree on and I think we’ll probably come to a conclusion. … I don’t care about affiliations or parties or anything else. I want to see — if this city could be unbelievable, if he could be a spectacular success, I would be very happy.”
Trump also appeared pleased at the amount of press interest in their meeting, saying: “The press has eaten this thing up” and that Mamdani’s win “out of nowhere” was “amazing.”
Mamdani, for his part, said he had been “very open” about his own democratic socialist beliefs and focused many of his comments on how he and Trump could cooperate on lowering the cost of living in New York. While he and Trump might have “differences about ideology … the place of agreement is the work that needs to be done to make New York City affordable,” he said.
Cooperation
Then: During the mayoral race, Trump regularly threatened to withhold federal funding for New York City if Mamdani won. Mamdani would be “one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party,” Trump wrote in September. “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
During the campaign, meanwhile, Mamdani pledged to “fight back” against the president and described himself as “Donald’s Trump’s worst nightmare, as a progressive Muslim immigrant who actually fights for the things I believe in.”
Now: “I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor. The better he does, the happier I am,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “I will say, there’s no difference in party … and we’re going to be helping him to make everybody’s dream come true.”
“He has a chance to really do something great for New York,” Trump went on to say. “New York is at a very critical point. And he does need the help of the federal government to really succeed. We’re going to be helping him.”
Mamdani, meanwhile, argued that making New York affordable was in the interests of them both.
“When we spoke to those voters who voted for President Trump, we heard them speak about cost of living,” Mamdani said. “We focused on that same cost of living, and that’s where I am really looking forward to delivering for New Yorkers in partnership with the president.”
“I can tell you that there were more New Yorkers who voted for President Trump in the most recent presidential election because of that focus on cost of living,” he added.
Living in New York
Then: After Mamdani’s electoral victory, Trump told a business forum in Miami: “Now the Democrats are so extreme that Miami will soon be the refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City.”
Now: Asked Friday if he would feel comfortable living in New York while Mamdani is mayor, Trump responded: “Yeah, I would. I really would. Especially after the meeting,” and said he had found that he and Mamdani “agree on a lot more than I would have thought.”
ICE
Then: In June, Mamdani described Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a “rogue agency” that “has no interest in laws, no interest in order.”
Over the summer, Trump said that if Mamdani blocked ICE raids in New York, “we’ll have to arrest him,” and suggested that the naturalized U.S. citizen was “here illegally.”
Now: One reporter asked Friday how the two leaders would reconcile their differences on ICE agents in New York City. Trump responded that they would “work them out.”
“We’ve discussed this at great length actually, maybe more than anything else. He wants to have a safe New York. Ultimately, a safe New York is going to be a great New York,” Trump said, while Mamdani nodded.
Trump also said they wanted “known murderers and known drug dealers” out and that “we’re going to make sure that if they are horrible people, then we want to get them out. I think he wants to get them out, maybe more than I do.”
Mamdani did not directly respond to that claim but said that he had spoken to Trump about “our desire to not only follow the laws of our own city, laws that protect New Yorkers, but also a desire for consistency in our politics across the board.”
Trump added that they had “discussed crime more than ICE per se … he doesn’t want to see crime and I don’t want to see crime” — something Mamdani nodded in agreement to.
Trump’s position and views
Then: Mamdani previously called Trump “a despot” and said he would defeat “Trump’s fascism.”
During his mayoral primary victory speech, Mamdani said he would “use his power to reject Donald Trump’s fascism.” On a separate occasion, he said: “We are in a period of political darkness: Donald Trump and his ICE agents are snatching our immigrant neighbors from our city right before our eyes. His authoritarian administration is waging a scorched-earth campaign of retribution against any who dared oppose him.”
During his victory speech this month, Mamdani said: “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.”
Now: Asked about some of those comments, Mamdani responded: “I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views. And what I really appreciate about the president is the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers.”
“And I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting,” Trump added. “Maybe — I think he’ll change his mind after we get to working together.”
When Mamdani was later pressed on whether he believed Trump is a fascist, the president jumped in.
“That’s okay, you can just say yes. That’s easier. It’s easier than explaining it, I don’t mind.”
The post What Trump and Mamdani have said about each other — then and now appeared first on Washington Post.
