New York mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani reacts during the “New York is not for sale” rally at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York City, USA on October 26, 2025.
Eduardo Muñoz | Reuters
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday night that he will meet with New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani at the White House on Friday.
The meeting was held at the request of Mamdani, a democratic socialist who shocked the US political world by defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in June’s Democratic mayoral primary and is now on track to defeat Cuomo again in this month’s general election.
President Trump made a last-minute endorsement of Mr. Cuomo in the general election, threatening to withhold federal funding from New York if Mr. Mamdani, 34, wins.
“Communist New York City Mayor Zoran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani has requested a meeting,” President Trump said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, in which he again falsely claimed that Mamdani is a communist.
“We have agreed that this meeting will be held in the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st. Further details to come!” the Republican president wrote.
“As is customary for incoming mayoral administrations, the mayor-elect will meet with the president in Washington to discuss public safety, economic security, and the affordability agenda that more than 1 million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago,” Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekek said in a statement.
Mamdani said in an interview on MS Now’s “All In with Chris Hayes” that when he meets with President Trump, “I want to be candid with him about what it means to actually stand up for New Yorkers and how New Yorkers are struggling to pay for the city.”
“The cost of living is something I hear over and over again from New Yorkers about why they voted for Donald Trump,” Mamdani said.
“And this is something that’s only been going on for the last few months of this year, and we’re hearing about child care concerns, rent concerns, Con Ed concerns, even just getting on the bus.”
