President Donald Trump said Friday that he would feel at ease living in New York City under Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani after a cordial Oval Office meeting.
The billionaire president praised the incoming socialist mayor and signaled that he would not block federal funding for the city, despite previously threatening to do so.
“Yeah, I would, especially after the meeting. Absolutely,” Trump told reporters when asked if he would feel comfortable in a Mamdani-led New York. “I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job.”
Trump emphasized that while he and Mamdani hold different ideological views, the meeting revealed unexpected areas of agreement. He noted that Mamdani supports reducing crime, increasing housing construction, and lowering rents—issues the president said he also prioritizes.
“We had a meeting today that actually surprised me. He wants to see no crime. He wants to see housing being built. He wants rents coming down. All things that I agree with. Now we may disagree on how we get there,” Trump said.
Before the meeting, Trump had repeatedly threatened to withhold federal funds to prevent Mamdani from implementing his radical policies.
The president now says intervention is unnecessary, according to the New York Post.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said. “I expect to be helping him, not hurting him — a big help, because I want New York City to be great… I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great.”
Trump also highlighted the unexpected overlap in voter support. Mamdani told the president that one in 10 of his votes came from Trump supporters.
Meanwhile, Trump noted that he had picked up support from some disaffected Bernie Sanders voters, explaining that many of Sanders’ supporters backed him once the Vermont senator left the 2016 Democratic presidential race.
“Bernie Sanders and I agreed on much more than people thought. And when he was put out of the race, I think quite unfairly, many of the Bernie Sanders voters voted for me, and I felt very comfortable, frankly, in seeing that and saying that,” Trump said.
The meeting marked a rare instance of civility between the Republican president and the country’s leading self-described socialist.
Trump’s remarks suggested that he sees potential for collaboration on specific policy priorities, even as ideological differences remain.
Trump stressed that the city’s housing market, safety, and economic stability are shared concerns that could allow constructive engagement with the new mayor.
He praised Mamdani’s approach to addressing crime and affordable housing. He said that he was “surprised” by the mayor-elect’s willingness to tackle those issues in ways consistent with Trump’s economic priorities.
The president has significant real estate holdings in New York City and indicated that the city’s future under Mamdani could directly affect him.
Despite his prior threats of federal intervention, Trump now appears willing to support the city’s transition, signaling a potentially cooperative relationship between a Republican president and a socialist mayor.
Trump concluded that his meeting with Mamdani showed promise for New York City’s future.
“I would feel very, very comfortable being in New York, and I think much more so after the meeting,” he said, adding that he hopes the mayor can achieve “really great” results for the city and its residents.
