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The handshake lasted just a moment, but it crystallized one of the more improbable political reconciliations in recent memory. President Donald Trump, seated behind the Resolute Desk, clasped hands with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Friday afternoon, lavishing praise on a man he had months earlier branded a “100% Communist Lunatic.”

The 25-minute Oval Office meeting, remarkable for its warmth and mutual flattery, came after a mayoral campaign season marked by venomous rhetoric from both sides. Trump had threatened to deport Mamdani, questioned his citizenship status, and vowed to withhold federal funding from the city. Mamdani had called Trump a fascist, a despot, and declared himself the president’s “worst nightmare.”

Yet there they stood, side by side, speaking of shared purpose and common ground.

“I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor, and the better he does, the happier I am,” Trump told reporters, his tone almost avuncular. “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.”

Trump went further still, saying he would feel “very, very comfortable” living in New York City under Mamdani’s leadership—a striking reversal from his campaign-trail warnings that the democratic socialist would bring ruin to his hometown.

For his part, Mamdani, 34, maintained a diplomatic posture throughout, emphasizing areas of agreement while carefully avoiding full retreat from his previous criticisms. “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,” he said.

The meeting’s most extraordinary moment came when a reporter asked Mamdani whether he still believed Trump was a fascist—a characterization the mayor-elect had used repeatedly during the campaign. As Mamdani began to answer, Trump interjected with a disarming smile, patting the younger man’s arm.

“That’s OK, you can just say yes,” the president said. “It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind. Mamdani, appearing to blush, responded with a simple “Alright. Yes.”

The exchange left political observers across the spectrum stunned. Film director Spike Lee told reporters at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday that he was “puzzled” by the meeting’s cordial tone. Republicans who had spent months portraying Mamdani as the dangerous face of American socialism found their messaging suddenly undermined by the president’s effusive praise.

A Paper Trail of Animosity

The bonhomie stood in stark contrast to the preceding months of mutual hostility.

During the mayoral campaign, Trump had deployed his full rhetorical arsenal against Mamdani. In June, after Mamdani won the Democratic primary, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor. We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous.”

The president repeatedly mislabeled Mamdani—who identifies as a democratic socialist—as a communist, calling him “my little communist mayor” and warning that “we’re going to end up with a communist mayor in New York, can you believe it, a communist?”

Trump’s attacks grew more personal and legally dubious. In July, despite Mamdani being a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2018, Trump claimed without evidence: “We’re going to be watching that very carefully. And a lot of people are saying, ‘he’s here illegally.’”

The president also threatened financial retaliation. “If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home,” Trump had declared.

As recently as this week, just days before the meeting, Trump posted: “Self-proclaimed New York City Communist, Zohran Mamdani, who is running for Mayor, will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party.”

Mamdani returned fire with equal fervor throughout the campaign. In his victory speech on November 4, he issued a direct challenge to the president: “So Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up!”

The mayor-elect characterized Trump as a threat to democracy itself. “If there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power,” Mamdani told supporters. “This is not only how we stop Trump, it’s how we stop the next one.”

He accused Trump of betraying the nation and promised, “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”

Mamdani repeatedly described Trump’s policies as fascist and authoritarian. In July, he wrote on social media that Trump “just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported,” adding that Trump’s “statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows.”

When Trump endorsed former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the race’s final days, Mamdani characterized it as a desperate alliance between two men threatened by genuine working-class politics.

The Art of the Pivot

What transformed bitter enemies into cordial collaborators? Political pragmatism appears to have trumped ideology for both men.

Mamdani won his stunning victory over Cuomo by focusing relentlessly on affordability—an issue that resonated not just with progressive voters but with a significant portion of Trump’s own base. NBC News exit polls found that 10 percent of New York City voters who cast ballots for Trump in the 2024 presidential election voted for Mamdani.

“A lot of my voters actually voted for him,” Trump acknowledged Friday. “One in 10, and I’m OK with that.”

The shared emphasis on cost-of-living concerns provided common ground. Both men spoke Friday about lowering grocery prices, reducing housing costs, and pressuring utility company Con Edison to cut rates.

“We had a meeting today that actually surprised me,” Trump said. “He wants to see no crime. He wants to see housing being built. He wants to see rents coming down. All things that I agree with. Now, we may disagree on how we get there.”

Mamdani, for his part, appeared to recognize the value of maintaining a working relationship with the federal government. “I will work with anyone to make life more affordable for the more than eight and a half million people who call the city home,” he had said ahead of the meeting.

The mayor-elect carefully threaded the needle between maintaining his principles and acknowledging political reality. “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,” he told reporters.

Trump, meanwhile, seemed genuinely charmed by the young politician. The president called Mamdani “a very rational person” who “really wants to see New York be great again,” language that echoed his own campaign slogan.

When asked about Rep. Elise Stefanik calling Mamdani a “jihadist” on the campaign trail, Trump shrugged it off. “No, I don’t,” he said when asked if he agreed. “She’s out there campaigning. You say things sometimes on a campaign.”

The president even suggested his previous threats about withholding federal funding were no longer operative. “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Trump said. “We want New York to be successful.”

Political Calculations

The meeting’s friendly tenor served different purposes for each man.

For Trump, who has seen his approval ratings fall amid concerns about the cost of living, embracing a mayor who won partly on pocketbook issues offered a potential lifeline. It also allowed him to position himself above partisan rancor, presenting an image of bipartisan cooperation that has eluded much of his presidency.

For Mamdani, who takes office in January, maintaining access to federal resources will be crucial for governing the nation’s largest city. His willingness to work with Trump—while notably not retracting his criticisms—suggests a mature political calculation about the difference between campaigning and governing.

The meeting also revealed the limits of partisan warfare in an era when voters increasingly prioritize concrete results over ideological purity. Both men seemed to recognize that their constituents care more about subway fares and grocery bills than about maintaining rhetorical consistency.

As they parted ways Friday afternoon, Trump posted photos from the meeting on Truth Social with the caption: “It was a Great Honor meeting Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor of New York City!”

Whether this unexpected détente will last beyond the photo opportunity remains to be seen. But for one afternoon at least, the communist lunatic and the fascist despot found a way to bridge the gap—proving once again that in politics, today’s enemies can become tomorrow’s allies when interests align.

The question now is whether this White House meeting represents a genuine thaw or merely a temporary ceasefire in what promises to be a complicated relationship between two of New York’s most polarizing political figures.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed in this article/column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of South Asian Herald.