Mamdani After Chummy Meeting: I Still Think Trump's a Fascist

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said in an interview that aired Sunday he still believes President Trump is a "fascist" and "despot" despite their surprisingly chummy White House meeting Friday—but that he also still intends to work with the president in order to help New Yorkers, NBC New York reports. "Everything that I've said in the past, I continue to believe," Mamdani said on NBC's Meet the Press. "I'm not coming into the Oval Office to make a point or make a stand. I'm coming in there to deliver for New Yorkers." Trump himself had encouraged Mamdani to "just say yes" during their Friday meeting when the mayor-elect was asked whether he stood by past remarks claiming Trump is a fascist, the AP reports.

As for why that meeting with Trump was so cordial, Mamdani explained, "I thought again and again about what it would mean for New Yorkers if we could establish a productive relationship that would focus on the issues that those New Yorkers stay up late at night thinking about," rather than continue exchanging insults, as the two have in the past.

As for what those issues are, Mamdani said he spoke to New Yorkers who voted for Trump in 2024. "When I asked those New Yorkers why did they vote for the president, they told me again and again, it was cost of living, cost of living, cost of living," the mayor-elect told NBC. "And when the president and I were speaking, we were speaking about what is preventing from delivering on that affordability agenda."

Mamdani said he and Trump also discussed the president's threats to send National Guard troops to New York City. "What I told him is that what separates New York City from anywhere else in the country is we have the NYPD, and I trust the NYPD to deliver public safety, and to me, that is something that I know that they can do, that they have done, and they will continue to do under my leadership," Mamdani said. Asked about the same topic on Saturday, Trump said he'd send the troops in "if they need it." Meanwhile, a Democrat strategist went on Fox News Sunday to warn that far-left voters might think Mamdani looked "weak" after his friendly sit-down with Trump.