Zohran Is on His Way to Meet Trump
President Donald Trump is meeting New York’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — a man Trump has described as “bad news,” a “total nutjob,” and “the Commie” — in the Oval Office at 3 p.m. today. Mamdani posted a selfie from the plane this morning, suggesting he is en route to the White House.
It was Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist making history as first Muslim mayor of New York, who proposed the meeting, which Trump announced on Truth Social on Wednesday. “I intend to make it clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any agenda that benefits New Yorkers,” Mamdani told reporters the following day. A Mamdani spokeswoman added in a statement that they hope to discuss “public safety, economic security and the affordability agenda that over one million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago.”
The meeting is bound to be tense: Mamdani has been a vocal critic of Trump, who’s threatened to arrest him if he interferes with ICE raids in the city in addition to slinging a bevy of insults his way. After his Election Night triumph, Zohran specifically addressed Trump in his victory speech: “Since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.” Still, it seems like Zohran is trying to find a way to work with Trump, perhaps because the president has threatened to pull national funding for a Mamdani-run city. According to a report from the New York State comptroller’s office, New York City’s 2026 operating budget relies on $7.4 billion in federal funding.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump called for the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who have urged the military to defy illegal orders by the administration and said their actions are “punishable by death.” So, there is not exactly a good vibe going in. Then again, who could resist Zohran’s cutie smile?
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