When it was first announced that the mayor-elect of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, was going to meet President Donald Trump, people expected one thing: chaos. But for some reason, when the two finally had a joint press conference after their closed-door meeting, Trump was practically swooning over Mamdani, much to the confusion of everyone in the room.
Trump has curated the White House press to be majority favorable to MAGA worldviews and causes. So when the press was finally invited into the Oval Office, where Trump was seated and Mamdani stood by his right shoulder, the press were asking questions that normally would instigate a verbal argument the likes of which would make the one with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy look like child’s play.
President Zelenskyy and anyone else who came to see the POTUS have actually only ever tried to be respectful of the president. Even people in MAGA, with a few exceptions, have only ever seen the best approach to dealing with Trump is being as complimentary as possible. But Mamdani decided otherwise.
Initially, Mamdani and Trump looked like they couldn’t be any different from each other. When his campaign initially started gaining traction beyond New York City, Trump started calling him a “communist lunatic” and “not very smart.” But today at the Oval Office, his entire demeanor changed — he was suddenly letting Mamdani call Israel’s war on Gaza a genocide and even offering no pushback when Mamdani previously called him a “fascist.”
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) November 21, 2025
HOLY SHIT: Mamdani just called Trump a fascist standing right next to him:
Reporter: “Are affirming that you think Trump is a fascist?”
Trump: “That’s ok, you can just say it.”
Mamdani: Yes.
This is how it’s done!!
pic.twitter.com/4AjnXNsURr
Mamdani gets enough credit for using the internet to appeal to the grassroots of New York City. And he’s not been afraid to give his personal opinion regardless of the Democratic Party line. But through it all, he never panders to “both sides” or gets off topic — which he has maintained as ensuring New York City is affordable to New Yorkers. And for some reason, that actually made Trump respect Mamdani’s resolve.
At the end of the day, regular everyday people are more interested in affording their groceries and healthcare than whatever latest grandstanding politicians are focused on at the time. Earlier in the day, House Republicans took to the Congress floor to vote Yay to pass a resolution condemning socialism. This is not a real issue that affects their constituents. Even Ron DeSantis took to X to call the whole exercise “performative.”
Performative. https://t.co/dPwPTUSQuU
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 22, 2025
Yet, the invited press still saw fit to reference the resolution and ask Mamdani whether he’s a communist. Trump then interjected to say, “He’s got views out there, but who knows? I mean, we’re going to see what works or he’s going to change also. We all change. I’ve changed a lot.”
But perhaps the most stinging part of the entire Oval Office press conference was when a reporter asked Trump about Rep. Elise Stefanik’s comments calling Mamdani a jihadist. Trump said from his perspective, Mamdani is a “very rational guy.” Trump added that Stefanik is probably just on the campaign trail saying whatever she thinks will get her votes — whether true or not.
Q: Stefanik has called Mamdani a 'jihadist.' Do you think you're standing next to a jihadist right now?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 21, 2025
TRUMP: No, I don't. I met with a man who's a very rational person pic.twitter.com/DrdUFhwNHX
Trump often complains about never being credited whenever he does good, but his diplomatic skills wouldn’t be so surprising if they were as common as we all wish they were. But one thing is clear: after Mamdani’s trip to the White House being a resounding success, the GOP will now clearly need a new boogeyman heading to the midterms.
