Trump surprised the mayor of New York. “He's a rational person”

During a conversation with journalists in the Oval Office of the White House, both politicians, who until recently used harsh words against each other, emphasized the priorities that unite them, i.e. the desire to reduce the cost of living.

When asked about calling Mamdani – a self-described democratic socialist – a communist, Trump said the mayor-elect “has his views,” but added that “everyone changes,” just as he himself changed his views after coming to power. He also denied that Mamdani, the first Muslim mayor of New York, was a jihadist, contrary to what Republican politicians accused him of.

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“We had a meeting that did not focus on the points of contention.”

— Many things are said during the campaign (…) I met a man who is a very rational person. “I met with a man who wants, really wants to make New York great again,” Trump said.

Mamdani, in turn, when asked about his comments against Trump – calling him a fascist and predicting that he would be his “worst nightmare” – said he preferred to focus on what they both had in common.

— President Trump and I have clear positions and views. And what I really appreciate about the president is the fact that we had a meeting that focused not on the points of disagreement, of which there are many, but on the common goal that we share – serving New Yorkers. And honestly, it's something that could change the lives of the eight and a half million people who are currently struggling with a cost of living crisis, and one in four of them live in poverty, he said.

When journalists asked him if he still considered Trump a fascist, the US president interjected, advising Mamdani to say “yes, because it's easier than explaining.”

Mamdani said many Trump voters voted for him in the mayoral election, and in both cases for the same reasons: to lower the cost of living in “America's most expensive city.”