US President Donald Trump has said that he will meet 'communist' New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday (November 21). Trump has repeatedly criticised Mamdani's policies and, on the eve of the November 4 election, warned that a Mamdani victory would be a "complete and total economic and social disaster" for New York City.
This will be the first meeting between the two since Mamdani, an Indian-origin immigrant, won the New York City mayoral election earlier this month.
Meeting will take place at the Oval Office: Trump
"Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran "Kwame" Mamdani, has asked for a meeting. We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st. Further details to follow!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.
According to the New York Times, President Trump has spent weeks disparaging Zohran Mamdani as an extremist, a communist and a danger to New York City. He has also insisted he is “much better looking" than the 34-year-old Mamdani.
But in private, Trump has described Mamdani, now the mayor-elect of New York City, as a talented politician, calling him slick and a good talker, according to two people who discussed the President's comments on condition of anonymity.
New York City Mayor's election
Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.
He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.
Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.
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