Fascist and communist labelling at Trump-Mamdani meet

The Star

US President Donald Trump brushed off a question about New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani previously calling him a “fascist,” telling reporters after their highly-anticipated meeting at the Oval Office on Nov 21 that he did not take offence.   Mamdani said they had made their positions and views clear but their meeting focused not on areas of disagreement but their shared purpose to make New York more affordable to its residents.   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news  SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar  LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00He wants to have a safe New York.

00:01Ultimately, a safe New York is going to be a great New York.

00:05We've just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting.

00:09We have one thing in common.

00:11We want this city of ours that we love to do very well.

00:16And I wanted to congratulate the mayor.

00:18He really ran an incredible race against a lot of smart people.

00:22And I just want to congratulate.

00:23I think you're going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor.

00:26The better he does, the happier I am, I will say.

00:29There's no difference in party.

00:31There's no difference in anything.

00:33And we're going to be helping him to make everybody's dream come true,

00:37having a strong and very safe New York.

00:39And congratulations, Mr. Mayor.

00:41Thank you, Mr. President.

00:42I appreciate it.

00:43Please.

00:44I appreciated the meeting with the president.

00:46And as he said, it was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love,

00:51which is New York City and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers,

00:56the eight and a half million people who call our city their home,

00:58who are struggling to afford life in the most expensive city in the United States of America.

01:03We spoke about rent.

01:04We spoke about groceries.

01:05We spoke about utilities.

01:06We spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out.

01:09And I appreciated the time with the president.

01:11I appreciated the conversation.

01:12I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers.

01:16For you, you've referred to Mr. Mamdani as a communist.

01:19Could you describe why you feel that way?

01:21And also, will you do anything to stop him from arresting Prime Minister Netanyahu if he visits New York?

01:28Well, we didn't discuss your second part of the question.

01:31And on your first part, I mean, he's got views that are a little out there, but who knows?

01:35I mean, we're going to see what works or he's going to change also.

01:39We all change.

01:40I change a lot.

01:41Change a lot from when I first came to office.

01:43It's now quite a while ago.

01:46It's quite a while.

01:46My first term was great.

01:48We had the greatest economy in the history of our country.

01:51We're doing even better now.

01:52We're doing much better now than we did even the first term.

01:55And I can tell you some of my views have changed.

01:57And we had discussions on some things.

02:00I'm not going to discuss what they were, but that I feel very confident that he can do a very good job.

02:06I think he's going to be, I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually.

02:12And some very liberal people he won't surprise them because they already like him.

02:16But just days ago, you referred to President Trump as a despot who betrayed the country.

02:20He said he would be his worst nightmare and accused him of having a fascist agenda.

02:25Are you claiming to retract any of these remarks in order to improve your relationship?

02:30I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views.

02:36And what I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many,

02:42and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers.

02:46And I've been called much worse than a despot, so it's not that insulting.

02:52I think he'll change his mind after we get to working together.

02:56Yes, please.

02:56And I want to clarify your answer to Stephen Melson.

02:59He asked about your comment called the president a fascist.

03:03And your answer was, both President Trump and I have been clear about our positions and our views.

03:08Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?

03:12I've spoken about...

03:13That's okay, you can just say yes.

03:15Okay.

03:16It's easier.

03:17It's easier than explaining it.

03:19I don't mind.

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