NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- President Donald Trump has called Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a "100% Communist Lunatic" and a "total nut job." Mamdani has called Trump's administration "authoritarian" and described himself as "Donald Trump's worst nightmare." On Friday, they met for the first time.
Trump and Mamdani spoke to reporters in the Oval Office—and seemed to hit it off during their meeting, with Trump saying, "I feel very confident that he could do a very good job."
"We're going to be helping him, to make everybody's dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York," the president told reporters with Mamdani beside him in the Oval Office."
The White House meeting focused more on their shared goals rather than their combustible differences. They discussed housing affordability and the cost of groceries and utilities, as Mamdani successfully used frustration over inflation to get elected, just as the president did in the 2024 election.
"What I really appreciate about the president is that 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," Mamdani said.
The president brushed aside Mamdani's criticisms of him over his administration's deportation raids and claims that Trump was behaving like a despot. Instead, Trump said the responsibility of holding an executive position in the government causes a person to change, saying that had been the case for him.
For Mamdani, a sit-down with the president of the United States offered the state lawmaker who until recently was relatively unknown the chance to go head-to-head with the most powerful person in the world.
"I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually," said Trump, who later seemed to take little umbrage when reporters asked Mamdani to clarify his past statements indicating that he thought the president was acting like a fascist.
The meeting gave Trump a high-profile chance to talk about affordability at a time when he's under increasing political pressure to show he's addressing voter concerns about the cost of living.
"Some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have," the president said of Mamdani about inflationary issues.
HERE'S THE LATEST:
3:40 PM -- Trump and Mamdani speak after meeting
3 PM -- Big press presence as Mamdani arrives at White House
There was a large press presence outside the White House as Mamdani arrived ahead of his meeting with Trump.
12:45 PM -- Photographers will be allowed inside for meeting
The White House originally said Thursday that the Oval Office meeting would be "closed press" but said Friday that photographers would be allowed inside for the one-on-one. The president often invites in a small "pool" of reporters at the last minute.
12 PM -- Mamdani landed in DC and will be heading to White House
Mamdani has landed in the nation's capital and will be heading to the White House for the 3 p.m. Oval Office meeting with Trump.
When Mayor Eric Adams visited Trump at the White House he had to wait an hour or so, but it's unclear if that will be the case this time.
11:15 AM -- Trump says the meeting with Mamdani will be 'civil'
Trump said in an interview Friday on Fox News Radio that Mamdani has "a different philosophy" but said he gives him "a lot of credit" for his campaign and said, "He ran a good race."
"I think we'll get along fine. Look, we're looking for the same thing. We want to make New York strong."
Trump was asked about some of Mamdani's comments challenging him directly and said, "I'm a little hard too, in all fairness."
He said he expects they'll be talking about the NYPD and Trump's immigration crackdown in their meeting.
9:30 AM -- Zohran Mamdani en route to Washington
The mayor-elect of New York appears to be on his way to Washington meet with President Trump.
He posted a selfie on X, the social media site, sitting in a plane shortly after 8:30 a.m. He added an airplane emoji.
The White House meeting between the two men is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
