In a stunning turn of events, President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani shared an unexpectedly warm meeting in the Oval Office on November 21, 2025—just weeks after exchanging some of the most explosive political insults of the year. Cameras captured a symbolic “power-move handshake,” with Trump seated behind the Resolute Desk and Mamdani leaning in with steady confidence, signaling a surprising mix of authority and mutual respect. What followed left Americans stunned: a cordial 25-minute private discussion and a friendly press appearance in which both leaders pledged cooperation on New York City’s housing crisis, affordability, and public safety. Trump even praised Mamdani as “very rational,” brushing off months of incendiary labeling, while Mamdani emphasized shared goals for New Yorkers. Their sudden shift from heated rhetoric to bridge-building has become one of the most unexpected political moments of 2025.
00:00I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He really ran an incredible race against, you know, a lot of smart people.
00:06And he beat him, and he beat him easily, and I congratulated him.
00:10But I just want to congratulate. I think you're going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor.
00:14The better he does, the happier I am, I will say it is.
00:18Well, thank you very much. We've just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting.
00:23We have one thing in common. We want this city of ours that we love to do very well.
00:30And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He really ran an incredible race against, you know, a lot of smart people.
00:36Starting with the early primaries against some very tough people, very smart people.
00:40And he beat him, and he beat him easily, and I congratulated him.
00:45And we talked about some things in very strong common, like housing and getting housing built, and food and prices.
00:55And the price of oil is coming way down. Anything I do is going to be good for New York.
01:01If I can get prices down, it's good for New York. And we've got them down, way down from last year.
01:07We have, as you know, I've been saying to a lot of people, Walmart said that Thanksgiving this year is exactly 25% less than last year.
01:15So that's good for New York, good for everybody.
01:17But I just want to congratulate. I think you're going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor.
01:22The better he does, the happier I am, I will say.
01:25There's no difference in party. There's no difference in anything.
01:29And we're going to be helping him to make everybody's dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York.
01:35And congratulations, Mr. Mayor.
01:38Thank you, Mr. President.
01:39I appreciate it.
01:39Please.
01:39I appreciate it. The meeting with the president, and as he said, it was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City.
01:49And the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers, the eight and a half million people who call our city their home, who are struggling to afford life in the most expensive city in the United States of America.
01:59We spoke about rent. We spoke about groceries. We spoke about utilities.
02:03We spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out.
02:06And I appreciated the time with the president. I appreciated the conversation.
02:08I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers.
02:13Thank you very much. Any questions, please?
02:16Mr. President Trump, Stephen Nelson from the New York Post.
02:19I've got a question for you and then also one for Merillette.
02:22For you, you've referred to Mr. Mamdani as a communist.
02:25Could you describe why you feel that way?
02:27And also, will you do anything to stop him from arresting Prime Minister Netanyahu if he visits New York?
02:33Well, we didn't discuss your second part of the question.
02:36And on your first part, I mean, he's got views that are a little out there, but who knows?
02:41I mean, we're going to see what works or he's going to change also.
02:45We all change. I change a lot.
02:47I change a lot from when I first came to office.
02:49It's now quite a while ago. It's quite a while.
02:52My first term was great.
02:54We had the greatest economy in the history of our country.
02:57We're doing even better now.
02:58We're doing much better now than we did even the first term.
03:00And I can tell you, some of my views have changed.
03:03And we had discussions on some things.
03:07I'm not going to discuss what they were, but that I feel very confident that he can do a very good job.
03:12I think he's going to be, I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually.
03:18And some very liberal people he won't surprise him because they already like him.
03:21And for Mr. Montani, it sounds like you had a productive discussion, but just days ago you referred to President Trump as a despot who had betrayed the country.
03:31You said you'd be his worst nightmare and accused him of having a fascist agenda.
03:35Are you planning to retract any of these remarks in order to improve your relationship?
03:40I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views.
03:46And what I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers.
03:56And frankly, that is something that could transform the lives of the eight and a half million people who are currently struggling under a cost of living crisis with one in four living in poverty.
04:04And the meeting came back again and again to what it could look like to lift those New Yorkers out of struggle and start to deliver them a city that they could do more than just struggle to afford it, but actually start to live in it.
04:13And I've been called much worse than a despot, so it's not that insulting.
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