President Donald Trump on Friday said he wants Zohran Mamdani to succeed as New York City mayor, vowing White House support for his work in the interest of New Yorkers.
The president expressed the hope that Mamdani would make a great mayor and may even surprise many conservatives.
“He has a chance to really do something great for New York,” the president said.
“New York is at a very critical point. And he does need the help of the federal government to really succeed, and we’re going to be helping him. But he’s different than you know, your average candidate. Hey, he came out of nowhere.”
“I met with a man who is very rational,” Trump, a New York native, said, disagreeing with Elise Stefanik who accused Mamdani of being a jihadist.
As Mamdani stood beside him for Press interaction after their White House meeting, Trump said they share the goal of making New York affordable for its people.
The two politicians, who followed populist agenda in their campaigns coming from the opposite parties, indicated after the Oval Office meeting that they agreed on ensuring that New Yorkers overcome affordability issues.
“The better he does, the happier I am,” the president said of Mamdani, previously described by Trump as communist.
Mamdani said he is “really looking forward to delivering for New Yorkers in partnership with the president on the affordability agenda.”
This is amazing. Kudos to Trump & Mamdani on coming together. We need more of this. @ZohranKMamdani @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/NpEBxNJiPL
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 21, 2025
Emphasizing the points of convergence between them the president said that “some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have.”
“We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job,” Trump said, speaking to the Press in his Oval Office.
Mamdani appreciated the opportunity to discuss his priorities with President Trump and noted that both cared about addressing issues facing New Yorkers.
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The mayor-elect repeatedly underscored the message of working cooperatively to address the cost-of-living issues facing New Yorkers.
The meeting follows Mamdani’s momentous victory on November 4 election for which Trump had expressed support for independent candidate governor Andrew Cuomo.
Trump called Mamdani a “communist” when he announced the Oval Office meeting earlier this week, after the incoming Big Apple mayor reached out for a meeting.
Mamdani will be the first ever Muslim and Indian origin immigrant to hold the mayoral office, when he assumes charge on January 1.
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During the campaign, Mamdani criticized Trump’s policies as “authoritarian.”
The two politicians have climbed down from election rhetoric.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump told Fox News Radio on Friday he expected the meeting to be “quite civil.”
Ali Imran is a Washington-based journalist, who has worked for leading world news organizations as a correspondent, expert and in editorial positions. He is a published author and poet.
