After trading barbs for months through social media and the press, President Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani struck a remarkably different tone when they spoke to reporters Friday afternoon for about 30 minutes in the Oval Office following their much-anticipated White House meeting.
In an astonishing shift, the two were positive and often complimentary, with Mr. Trump saying that Mamdani “can do some things that I think are gonna be really great,” and adding that his meeting with the 34-year-old mayor-elect “surprised” him.
“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought,” the president said of Mamdani, a democratic socialist whom the president had previously referred to as “a communist lunatic.”
Both reiterated that while they have their differences, they also found areas of agreement on addressing the issue of affordability.
“That’s where I am really looking forward to delivering with New Yorkers in partnership with the president on the affordability agenda,” Mamdani said.
“You know, we had some interesting conversation, and some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have,” Mr. Trump said. “…He wants to see no crime, he wants to see housing being built, he wants to see rents coming down — all things that I agree with,” though he added, “we may disagree on how we get there.”
The two leaders also answered questions on topics including the situation in Gaza and the war in Ukraine. Watch their full remarks in the video player on this page.
Yuri Gripas / Abaca / Bloomberg via Getty Images 
