Detente? Trump plans to meet NY Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In yet another of his multiple ‘climbdowns,’ which his supporters believe is a sagacious step, US President Donald Trump plans to meet with his youngest political foe, New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, soon, the media reported on Monday.
He indicated on Sunday that he plans to meet with Mamdani, and said they’ll “work something out,” in what could be a detente for the Republican President and Democratic political star who have cast each other as political foils.
For months, Trump, 79, slammed Mamdani, 34, falsely labelling him as a “communist” and predicting the ruin of his hometown, New York, if the Democratic Socialist was elected Mayor of New York. He also threatened to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a naturalised American citizen in 2018, and to pull federal money from the city.
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani rose from an obscure state lawmaker to become a social media star and symbol of the resistance against President Trump. He campaigned on an array of progressive policies and a message that was stark in its opposition to the aggressive, anti-immigrant agenda Trump has rolled out in his second White House term since January 2025.
Mamdani appealed to a broad cross-section of New Yorkers and defeated one of its political heavyweights, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, by nearly 9 percentage points.
In his victory speech recently, he said he wanted New York to show the country how to defeat the President. But the day after, while speaking about his plans for “Trump-proofing” New York once he takes office in January, the incoming mayor also said he was willing to work with anyone, including the President, if it can help New Yorkers.
Representatives for Mamdani did not have an immediate comment on Sunday night on the President’s remarks, but a spokesperson pointed to the Mayor-elect’s remarks last week when he said he planned to reach out to the White House “because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city.”
Trump expressed a similar sentiment on Sunday.
“The Mayor of New York, I will say, would like to meet with us. We’ll work something out,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to fly back to Washington after spending the weekend in Florida.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified shortly after that no date had been set for such a meeting.
“We want to see everything works out well for New York,” Trump said.
He also said the US may hold discussions soon with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, after a military buildup near the South American country.
“I’ll talk to anybody,” Trump said.
