US President Donald Trump has said that he will meet New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday.
"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 wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday evening.
Mamdani, the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the country’s largest city, defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in this month’s election after running a progressive campaign focused on affordability and social services.
Throughout the campaign, Trump repeatedly attacked the 34-year-old democratic socialist, calling him a "communist," endorsing Cuomo and warning that he could cut federal funds to New York City if Mamdani won.
Work something out
Trump also suggested — falsely — that he could deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a naturalised US citizen in 2018.
Trump later said the two would "work something out," signalling a possible shift in tone after Republicans suffered losses in several states and as he began emphasising affordability, a central theme of Mamdani’s campaign.
In a post earlier this month, Mamdani said he was willing to speak with Trump but would refuse any engagement that came "at the expense of New Yorkers."
His team has confirmed reaching out to arrange a possible meeting.
A second statement posted by Trump on Wednesday reinforced the planned meeting and again referred to Mamdani by his full name while placing "Kwame" in quotation marks.
He called the meeting "long-awaited" and suggested it could represent a rare moment of detente.
Mamdani, who officially takes office in January, said in his victory speech that he wanted New York to show the country "how to defeat the president."
He has also spoken of "Trump-proofing" the city once in office, while emphasising he is prepared to work with anyone, including the president, if it benefits New Yorkers.
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Source: TRT