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Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, will go to the White House on Friday. The stakes are high for the city.
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Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House
Nov. 20, 2025
After months of trading attacks, President Trump and Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, will meet on Friday at the White House.
The outcome of their meeting — and their relationship in the coming months — could be hugely consequential for the nation’s largest city, and the dynamics are complicated.
Mr. Mamdani, 34, has been known to disarm high-powered skeptics with charm and a willingness to listen and engage. But if he treats Mr. Trump with kid gloves, Mr. Mamdani’s backers may feel that he has betrayed his progressive roots.
Mr. Trump faces a similar conundrum. He has spent months belittling Mr. Mamdani, falsely calling him a communist, threatening to arrest him and warning that he would bring ruin to New York City.
He views Mr. Mamdani as a liability for Democrats in the midterm elections next year, and would not seem to be motivated to do anything that might help him — he even gave Mr. Mamdani’s chief primary rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, his endorsement on the eve of Election Day. At the same time, it is unlikely that the president wishes to be seen as contributing to the city’s decline.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Thursday “it speaks volumes” that a “communist” was going to the White House. (Mr. Mamdani is a democratic socialist.)
