There were smiles and more than a few laughs. Compliments, ranging from genuine to diplomatic, were abundant.
And when reporters tried to interrupt the unexpected buddy movie that emerged in the White House on Friday, President Trump warmly placed his hand on Zohran Mamdani’s arm and gently advised him to keep it simple in response to a question about whether Mr. Mamdani considered him a fascist.
“You can just say yes,” the president said. “It’s easier.”
It was an astonishingly affectionate performance that sent heads spinning, as New Yorkers confronted the once-unthinkable possibility that Mr. Mamdani, the democratic socialist mayor-elect of New York City, and the president actually got along.
“I mean, it did seem like a little bit of a bromance,” said Nicole Malliotakis, the Republican congresswoman from the conservative stronghold of Staten Island. “Based on the election results, we knew Mamdani was charming, but who thought he’d be able to charm the president?”
For weeks, New York leaders have been bracing for the likelihood of a devastating confrontation between the Trump administration and a City Hall led by Mr. Mamdani. They have gamed out what, precisely, it might look like if Mr. Trump sends federal troops or a surge of immigration enforcement agents into New York City. They have fretted about more funding cuts. They have formed rapid-response groups and enlisted the help of business leaders.
They have had reason to worry. Not only has Mr. Trump threatened New York City, but he also personally tried to prevent Mr. Mamdani from winning the mayoral election, even going so far as to urge Republicans to abandon their party nominee in favor of Andrew M. Cuomo, the Democratic former governor.
But then the cameras went live on Friday from the Oval Office. There was Mr. Mamdani, standing with a quiet smile by Mr. Trump’s side as the president lavished him with praise; commended his decision to keep the current police commissioner; applauded his pro-housing, pro-affordability inclinations; and helped him swat away unfriendly questions from the conservative press.
To hear Mr. Trump tell it, the two men, who occupy starkly opposing positions on Israel and Gaza, even found common ground there.
Casting himself as the consummate peacemaker, Mr. Trump said Mr. Mamdani, too, “feels very strongly” about “peace in the Middle East.”
Sid Rosenberg, a conservative talk radio host who has interviewed Mr. Trump and whose suggestion that Mr. Mamdani would welcome another Sept. 11 attack became its own story line in the mayor’s race, said he was shocked at the president’s reaction. He posted a video response prefaced by an expletive-colored introduction conveying his disbelief. (He later deleted the video.)
“I love Trump and I’m almost never critical of President Trump ever,” Mr. Rosenberg said in an interview. “He meets with people, from the Putins to Kim Jong-un, horrible people, horrible people that want to kill us, he meets with them. That’s how he fixes stuff. I get it.”
But, he said, referring to Mr. Mamdani: “For me as a Jew in New York, this guy really rubs me wrong. And to watch them shake hands and smile” made him want to lose his lunch.
Mr. Mamdani’s ability to win over skeptics and enemies has figured prominently in his political rise, as he has used his retail political skills to charm both taxi drivers and real estate magnates. On Friday, he appeared to have done it again.
Ana María Archila, the co-director of New York’s Working Families Party, giggled as she watched Mr. Trump’s “relaxed and happy energy with someone he has threatened to deport.” (In July, Mr. Trump threatened to arrest Mr. Mamdani, adding, “a lot of people are saying he’s here illegally.” Mr. Mamdani was born in Uganda but is a naturalized citizen.)
Ms. Archila also admitted to feeling “a tiny bit of relief” that perhaps some of Mr. Trump’s threats against New York may not come to pass, even though the president avoided discussing specifics.
“There is the possibility that maybe this means New York City is not going to get invaded by federal troops on Jan. 1,” she said.
In this time of profound national division, the meeting also managed to please Joe Borelli, a pro-Trump Republican and a former councilman from Staten Island.
“As a New Yorker, I was proud of both the mayor-elect and the president,” he said. “I think it’s a good lesson for people that the characters you make them out to be aren’t necessarily who they really are.”
The event seemed all the more remarkable because Mr. Mamdani — considered by some national Democratic leaders to be too far left to embrace — seemed to gain more ground with the president in one hour than his party has in Mr. Trump’s five years in office.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader from Brooklyn who never endorsed Mr. Mamdani’s campaign, was succinct in his praise.
“Schumer feels a meeting like this can only be good for New York,” his spokesman said.
Other reactions were more colorful.
“I think JD Vance is jealous,” joked Brian Kilmeade, the Fox News host. “They really get along fantastic.”
Ross Barkan, a political reporter who employed Mr. Mamdani as his campaign manager when he ran for the State Senate, wryly observed on social media that “Trump endorsed Mamdani before Schumer did.”
Even as many New Yorkers rejoiced in the possibility of a functional relationship between City Hall and the White House, they also questioned how long it might take for Mr. Trump, known for his mercurial nature, to turn on Mr. Mamdani.
“I don’t think Trump is a particularly consistent or morally guided actor so we need to prepare for potentially increased federal activity in the city,” said Grace Mausser, the co-chair for the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the organization that has been central to Mr. Mamdani’s political success.
“But overall, Zohran has always been a clear communicator and an effective political actor, and if this leads Trump to not attack the city, I think that’s good,” she added.
Dana Rubinstein covers New York City politics and government for The Times.
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