Trump and Zohran Mamdani meet in the Oval Office – November 21, 2025
After meeting with New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, both told reporters it was “productive” and signaled a strong willingness to work together to make New York thrive.
Trump congratulated Mamdani and said their meeting was “great.” He continued, “We have one thing in common: We want this city of ours that we love to do very well.”
The meeting, which was initially closed to the press, opened for a press conference at approximately 4 pm ET.
Trump said the following to kick off his press conference alongside Mamdani:
Trump: We’ve just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting. We have one thing in common: We want this city of ours that we love to do very well. And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He really ran an incredible race against a lot of smart people, starting with the early primaries, against some very tough people, very smart people, and he beat them, and he beat them easily. And I congratulated him, and we talked about some things in very strong common, like housing and getting housing built and food and prices. And the price of oil is coming way down— anything I do is going to be good for New York. If I can get prices down, it’s good for New York, and we’ve got them down, way down from last year.
As you know, I’ve been saying to a lot of people, Walmart said that Thanksgiving this year is exactly 25% less than last year. So, that’s good for New York, good for everybody. But I just want to congratulate. I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor. The better he does, the happier I am, I will say. There’s no difference in party. There’s no difference in anything, and we’re going to be helping him to make everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York. And congratulations, Mr. Mayor.
Mamdani also delivered brief remarks, thanking the President for having him at the Oval Office to discuss “New York City and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers, the eight and a half million people who call our city their home, who are struggling to afford life in the most expensive city in the United States of America.”
Mamdani: I appreciated the meeting with the President, and as he said, 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, the eight and a half million people who call our city their home, who are struggling to afford life in the most expensive city in the United States of America. We spoke about rent, we spoke about groceries, we spoke about utilities, we spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out. And I appreciated the time with the President. I appreciated the conversation. I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers.
Then, Trump made a shocking announcement to the reporters and all of America, saying that Zohran is “going to change” and that he may “surprise some conservative people, actually.” Trump added, “I mean, he’s got views that are a little out there, but who knows? I mean, we’re going to see what works.”
The New York Post’s Stephen Nelson questioned President Trump and Mamdani on their differences in ideas and exchanging of barbs, with Trump calling Mamdani a communist and Mamdani calling Trump a despot and a fascist.
This is when Trump assured reporters that “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job.”
Mamdani also showed gratitude to the President that their meeting focused “not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers,” expressing optimism for their relationship.
Trump joked, “I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting. Maybe— I think he’ll change his mind after we get to working together.”
WATCH:
Nelson: You referred to Mr. Mamdani as a Communist. Could you describe why you feel that way? And also, will you do anything to stop him from arresting Prime Minister Netanyahu if he visits New York?
Trump: Well, we didn’t discuss your second part of the question, and on your first part, I mean, he’s got views that are a little out there, but who knows? I mean, we’re going to see what works. He’s going to change also. We all change. I changed a lot, changed a lot from when I first came to office. It’s now quite a while ago. It’s quite a while. My first term was great. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. We’re doing even better now. We’re doing much better now than we did even in the first term. And I can tell you, some of my views have changed, and we had discussions on something. I’m not going to discuss what they were, but that I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he’s going to be, I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually. And some very liberal people, he won’t surprise them because they already like him.
Nelson: And Mr. Mamdani, it sounds like you had a productive discussion, but just days ago, you referred to President Trump as a despot who betrayed the country. You said you’d be his worst nightmare and accused him of having a fascist agenda. Are you claiming to retract any of these remarks in order to improve your relationship?
Mamdani: I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views. And 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. And frankly, that is something that could transform the lives of eight and a half million people, who are currently struggling under a cost of living crisis, with one in four living in poverty. And the meeting came back again and again to what it could look like to lift those New Yorkers out of struggle and start to deliver them a city that they could do more than just struggle to afford it, but actually start to live in it.
Trump: And I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting. Maybe— I think he’ll change his mind after we get to working together.
The post WATCH: Trump Says Zohran Mamdani will “Surprise Conservatives” After “Great Meeting” – Mamdani Signals Willingness to Work with Trump appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.