Donald Trump has signalled he may soon meet with New York City's mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, telling reporters that Mamdani "would like to meet with us" and that "we'll work something out". The US president made the remarks on Sunday, despite the two having previously traded sharp words.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist and former state assembly member, won the mayoral election earlier this month. On Monday, he confirmed his team had contacted the White House, saying he had made a commitment to New Yorkers to meet with anyone if it benefited the city's 8.5 million residents and helped address the affordability crisis.
"We are seeing his actions and that of his administration in Washington leading to the exact opposite effect for New Yorkers," Mamdani said, adding that he would make the case to the president that changes are needed to make daily necessities more affordable for New Yorkers and Americans.
During the campaign, Trump frequently attacked Mamdani, calling him a "communist lunatic", threatening to pull federal funding from the city and suggesting he could strip Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and later naturalised as a US citizen, of his citizenship. Mamdani condemned the threat as an attack on democracy. Trump endorsed his opponent, Andrew Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani.
Mamdani has repeatedly said he would work with Trump if it helped lower the cost of living for New Yorkers. In his victory speech, he said that defeating Trump requires dismantling the conditions that allowed him to accumulate power, and told Trump: "To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us." Mamdani will be sworn in as the city's 111th mayor on 1 January.
