‘Communist’ Mamdani and ‘Fascist’ Trump have far too cordial a meeting

The ‘friendly’ and ‘too chummy to be true’ meeting between US President Donald Trump and New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has left supporters of both shocked and frothing at the mouth.

MAGA Republicans, who have been busy demonising Mamdani’s ‘socialism’ as a threat to the United States, were left speechless by President Trump’s warm praise for Mamdani. Mamdani supporters who were looking forward to the ‘encounter’ and hoped to see Mamdani get the better of Trump in a televised conversation, were equally shocked. Their initial reaction suggested that they saw the cordial meeting as a betrayal.

Unlike the famous spat in the Oval office between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump earlier this year, the US president and Mamdani were on their best behaviour. Each seemed to have charmed the other. Mamdani told media persons that he had a productive meeting and appreciated the president’s shared concerns on affordability.

"It was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers," Mamdani said after the first-ever face-to-face meeting with the US president, who had threatened to deport him from the country if he won the mayoral race.

Trump was also effusive in complimenting Mamdani for his plan to build more houses to bring down rent in the city. Both of them had more in common than people thought, the US president went on to add. “I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor,” said Trump, patting Mamdani on his arm.

On his part, the mayor-elect was correct and deferential, even though he looked tense. He also seemed to flatter Trump by recalling that one in 10 New Yorkers who voted for him had also voted for Trump. “There were more New Yorkers who voted for President Trump in the most recent presidential election because of that focus on cost of living,” Mamdani said, “and I'm looking forward to working together to deliver on that affordability agenda."

While the bonhomie between the two unsettled some Democrats and his own supporters, others were more charitable, defending Mamdani’s stand to avoid confrontation. If he has to deliver on his promises for New York and New Yorkers, they pointed out, he needed to have a working relationship with the White House and not get embroiled in a slugfest.

Mamdani, born in Africa, is not eligible to contest in the presidential election and Democratic hopefuls, many of whom clearly hate him and have refrained from endorsing him, do not necessarily feel threatened by him.

Mamdani’s stand against Israel and the genocide in Gaza, and support for the Palestinian cause, marks him out. Two years ago, he had stood outside the White House and protested against the US supporting Israel with both finance and arms to sustain the genocidal attack on Palestine. At the Oval Office too, in reply to a question, Mamdani reiterated that the money being given to Israel should be better utilised to improve lives of Americans. Trump did not react.

Asked by a reporter whether he was sitting next to a Muslim Jihadist, Trump said, "No. I found him to be a very rational person." Asked if he would be comfortable living in New York under ‘communist’ Mamdani as mayor, Trump replied in the affirmative.

When a reporter asked Mamdani whether he still believed the US president was a fascist, Trump came to Mamdani’s rescue and told him to go ahead and say ‘yes’, which would be easier than explaining. He would not mind, quipped the president, adding that he had been called names worse than fascist.

“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,” the president said. “Now, we may disagree how to get there.”

Though the meeting turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax, some commentators preferred to keep their fingers crossed. The real test, they felt, will come once Mamdani officially takes over as mayor in January 2026.

At the moment, Trump has more to gain politically by riding Mamdani’s ‘affordability’ plank. His approval rating has been plunging and a large section of Americans are hurting because of inflation. How the mercurial president behaves in the New Year will indicate whether Mamdani has truly got the measure of him.