Trump offers Zohran Mamdani nothing but praise after their first meeting

Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani sat down Friday for their first face-to-face meeting, and they emphasized their common agenda on issues like cost of living.

For months, Donald Trump warned New Yorkers against electing Zohran Mamdani as mayor, referring to him as a “communist lunatic.” Mamdani, meanwhile, called Trump a “despot.”

All of that was put aside in an extraordinary Oval Office get-together Friday, the first face-to-face meeting between the two men.

Trump, who sought to kneecap Mamdani during the campaign, was exceedingly complimentary of the self-described democratic socialist, while Mamdani repeatedly talked up his hope that he and the president could work together to lower costs for New Yorkers.

“I met with a man who’s a very rational person,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office following the private Friday afternoon meeting. “I met with a man who ... really wants to see New York be great again.”

“I’ll really be cheering for him,” Trump added.