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North The Indian Eye

AMERICANNewsline

14 DECEMBER 05, 2025

Trump and Mamdani’s harmonious

meeting bode well for New Yorkers

OUR BUREAUA
Washington, DC / New York, NY
S President Donald Trump met New York
City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the
UWhite House last Friday. The encounter
with the man who once called himself “Donald
Trump’s worst nightmare” unfolded far more am-
icably than anticipated.
What many expected to be a tense, combat-
ive encounter between two ideological adversaries
turned instead into a carefully choreographed dis-
play of civility and converging interests. Inside the
Oval Office, where Trump once railed against “so-
cialists” and “radicals,” he now stood beside one of
the most prominent left-wing figures in American
city politics and called the conversation “great.”
Mamdani, who built his campaign on attacking
Trump-era policies as “authoritarian,” responded
in kind, praising the president’s willingness to fo-
cus on “shared purpose.”
According to both leaders, their talks revolved
around housing, living costs and inflation—issues
that defined Mamdani’s insurgent campaign and
also powered Trump’s 2024 return to the White
House. “We’re going to be helping him, to make his claim that he had helped de-escalate the May cooperation with Washington would depend on
everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and confrontation between India and Pakistan, folding respect for New York’s values. “I’ll work with the
very safe New York,” Trump told reporters, pre- that narrative into a broader list of “eight peace President when it benefits New Yorkers. And I’ll
senting himself not as Mamdani’s antagonist, but deals” he says his administration brokered. India fight like hell when our values are at stake.”
as a partner in governing the country’s largest city. has consistently rejected suggestions of third-party The political stakes for all three leaders are
Mamdani echoed that tone of cautious partner- mediation, pointing instead to its own Operation high. For Mamdani, this was an early national au-
ship. “What I really appreciate about the president,” Sindoor and the eventual ceasefire understanding dition as he prepares to become New York’s first
he said, “is that the meeting that we had focused not of May 10, but Trump showed no sign of backing South Asian and first Indian American mayor, and
on places of disagreement, which there are many, away from his version of events. For Mamdani—of its youngest in more than a century. Born in Kam-
and also focused on the shared purpose that we Indian heritage and deeply aware of South Asian pala to filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mah-
have in serving New Yorkers.” For a politician who politics—the moment was a reminder of the com- mood Mamdani, he moved to Queens at the age of
ran on promising to stand up to Washington, the plicated terrain he now occupies: a progressive seven and became a US citizen in 2018. His rapid
symbolism of standing next to Trump and speaking mayor-elect dependent on federal support, stand- rise from state lawmaker to City Hall has unsettled
the language of cooperation was significant, if risky. ing beside a president who routinely rewrites glob- conservatives and energised progressives, making
Throughout the press availability, Trump went al crises in his own image. his posture towards Trump a crucial test of how he
out of his way to defuse potential flashpoints. When Back in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul will balance confrontation with pragmatism.
a reporter pressed Mamdani about his past com- moved quickly to frame the meeting on her own And for New Yorkers, the unusual harmony on
ments comparing Trump to a fascist, the president terms. In a strongly worded statement, she wel- display in the Oval Office offered at least the prom-
jumped in with a shrug: “I’ve been called much comed Trump’s “renewed commitment” to New ise of something concrete: a mayor and a president,
worse than a despot.” When the question was re- York and his focus on affordability and safety, but poles apart in background and belief, acknowledg-
peated, Trump again intervened: “That’s OK. You condemned Islamophobic attacks against Mam- ing that affordability, housing and security matter
can just say yes. OK? It’s easier. It’s easier than dani from within the president’s own party. Some more than labels. Whether the warmth survives
explaining it. I don’t mind.” The exchange drew Republican figures have repeatedly branded the the first serious clash over immigration, policing
laughter, but it also served a purpose—Trump sig- mayor-elect a “jihadist,” a label Hochul called or federal funds remains to be seen. But for one
nalled that he was willing to absorb past insults if “unacceptable” and “without place in our politics.” afternoon, the city that so often lives at the fault
the mayor-elect was prepared to work with him. “I appreciate that the President rejected ef- line of national politics saw its next mayor and its
The White House event also became a plat- forts by members of his own party to weaponize current president agree on a simple idea—that
form for Trump’s familiar foreign-policy boast- the mayor-elect’s background, faith, and identity New Yorkers deserve more from Washington than
ing. Standing alongside Mamdani, he repeated for political gain,” she said, while warning that endless war of words.

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