Key Points:
Mamdani’s past criticism of Trump resurfaced during a press briefing.
Mamdani was questioned whether he still believes Trump is a fascist.
Trump turned the tense moment into humour, encouraging Mamdani to simply say “yes,” which Mamdani eventually did.
After winning the mayoral election in a landslide victory, Zohran Mamdani, the 111th Mayor of New York City, officially met the President of the United States (POTUS) on 21 November, 2025. Despite a notable political rift between them during the election campaigning, their meeting at the Oval Office was described as “productive” by both parties.
While addressing the press following the meeting, one question directed to Mamdani resurfaced his past criticism of the President. A reporter asked whether he planned to take back his earlier comments about Trump to build a better working relationship with the President. Despite multiple disagreements, he emphasized on their shared priority which is to serve the people of New York.
Another journalist brought up Mamdani’s previous remark about Trump and asked whether he still believed he could “affirm that Trump is a fascist.” Mamdani, who was standing beside President Trump, began responding when Trump interrupted and laughed it off. The reporter pressed again, asking the Democratic mayor, “Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?”
When Mamdani began to answer the question, Trump interrupted him; their confrontation immediately turned into a light-hearted moment. Mamdani answered the reporter’s question, “I have spoken about—-”. President Trump cut him off and asked him to say yes because it's easier than explaining it.
“That’s OK, you can just say yes. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind,” Trump said. After Trump’s reaction, Mamdani responded to the question with an awkward smile, saying, “Alright, yes!” Trump patted Mamdani’s arm while laughing it off. The moment even caught the attention of Vice President JD Vance. During an interview with Fox News, Vance said, “POTUS has a lot of good moments, but this is an all-timer.”
The Trump–Mamdani meeting comes as a surprise, given that both sides had repeatedly criticized each other during their campaigns. Trump praised the newly elected NYC mayor and spoke highly of him. He remarked, “The better he does, the happier I am.”
Trump also noted that he and Mamdani share one key goal. Speaking from behind the Resolute Desk, he said, “We have one thing in common — we want this city of ours that we love to do incredibly well.”
Although Trump had previously called Mamdani a “100% Communist lunatic” and a “nut job,” he has now begun to praise the NYC mayor and express support for him. Trump added that he believes Mamdani may change some of his views. Trump said, “I think he’s going to change on some of his views. Some of my views have changed too since I entered public office.”
Mamdani won the mayoral race with 50.4% of the vote against independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Trump had endorsed Cuomo and was openly critical of Mamdani, even questioning his citizenship, while Mamdani had vowed to stand up against Trump.
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