I’ll report what happened when President Donald Trump met New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, note the surprising areas of agreement, include Trump’s exact comments, place the video embed where it belonged, and keep the focus squarely on the political implications for New York.

Art of the Deal: Trump Meets With NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, Says: ‘He’s Gonna Change’

The meeting between President Trump and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was brief but newsworthy, and it moved quickly from campaign hostility to awkward cooperation. Both men arrived with clear labels attached — Mamdani as a Democratic Socialist and Trump as a critic who once called him a “communist” — yet they left the room signaling a desire to work on common problems. That shift matters because New York’s problems are public and immediate: crime, housing, and sky-high rents. Watching how this newly announced detente plays out will reveal whether political theater can become pragmatic policy.

The campaign had been fierce, with Mamdani pledging to fight Trump and using heated language to describe the president. Trump had returned fire by throwing barbs and even endorsing other Democrats during the race, insisting Mamdani “is not” capable during parts of the contest. Despite that bitter backdrop, the two leaders met in the Oval and found, at least on the surface, some overlap in priorities. Both said they care about housing supply, crime reduction, and bringing down rents for everyday New Yorkers.

Trump framed the encounter as a surprising but useful conversation and emphasized his hometown loyalty as a reason to help. The president portrayed himself as willing to set aside partisan labels to push for results in New York City, stressing his desire for the city to be “great.” He also used the moment to jab at the press for focusing intensely on this meeting compared with other diplomatic encounters. The tone was part cautious optimism, part political positioning aimed at conservatives who have doubts about Mamdani’s ideology.

Trump told reporters directly after the meeting and spelled out the areas of agreement and the potential for change in Mamdani’s outlook. He pointed to housing as the key lever for lowering rents and emphasized building more units as the most effective route. His remarks suggested an intention to offer support rather than opposition if Mamdani follows through on some practical, market-facing solutions. That promise of help was underscored by Trump’s repeated claim that he wants New York to recover and thrive.

We had a meeting today that actually surprised me. He wants to see no crime, he wants to see housing being built, he wants to see rents coming down, all things that I agree with. We may disagree on how we get there. The rent coming down, I think, one of the things I really gleaned very much today, we’d like to see them come down ideally, by building a lot of additional housing. That’s the ultimate way. He agrees with that. If I read the newspapers and the stories that I hear, I don’t hear that. But I heard him say it today and I think it’s a very positive step. No, I expect to be helping him, not hurting him — a big help. Because I want New York to be great. Look, I love New York City, it’s where I come from. I spent a lot of years there, now I’m right here. We took a big step back with the Mayor we had, “Dave” DeBlasio. I thought it was a tremendous setback for the city. I think this Mayor can do some things that will be really great. 

There was clear talk about press interest and how it skewed coverage of this Oval Office meeting compared with visits by foreign leaders. Trump made that point sharply, noting the intense media focus and the crowd outside, and he suggested the spectacle was disproportionate. He used the moment to frame media interest as a contrast between what often gets covered and what he sees as substantive local governance. That critique played to his base and to observers who think national outlets obsess over certain political displays.

The press has eaten this thing up. You know, I’ve had a lot of meetings with the heads of major countries, nobody cared. This meeting, you people have gone crazy. You know, outside we have hundreds of people waiting, this is just a small little group. For some reason the press has found this to be a very interesting meeting. The biggest people in the world, they come over from foreign countries, nobody cares. But they did care about this meeting and it was a great meeting. 

WATCH:

Trump acknowledged ideological differences and predicted some degree of evolution on both sides, including Mamdani’s potential to moderate. He referenced his own changes in outlook since first taking office as a way to normalize political growth and hinted that Mamdani might surprise conservative skeptics. The implication was strategic: if Mamdani adopts practical measures that reduce crime and expand housing, Republicans can claim vindication without abandoning core concerns. That framing keeps the focus on results instead of labels.

I mean, he’s got views that are, you know, a little out there. But, who knows, we’re going to see what works. He’s gonna change also, we all change. I changed a lot. I changed a lot from when I first came to office it’s now quite a while ago. Quite a while. My first term was great, we had the greatest economy in the history of our country. We’re doing even better now, we’re doing much better now than we did even my first term. And I can tell you, some of my views have changed. We had discussions on some things, I’m not going to discuss what they were, but, I feel very confident that he could do a very good job. I think he’s gonna be… I think he’s going to surprise some conservative people, actually. And some very liberal people he won’t surprise them because they already like him.

At the end of the day, Trump framed his willingness to engage as motivated by civic pride and outcomes rather than party loyalty. He insisted that if the city improves under Mamdani, he will celebrate the success regardless of labels. That practical posture will be tested fast: the issues they discussed are immediate and measurable, and New Yorkers will quickly judge whether words translate into safer streets and more affordable housing. For now, the meeting stands as a cautious opening rather than a settled alliance.

Editor’s Note: Zohran Mamdani is an avowed Democratic Socialist who will be the next mayor of New York City. Who knows what that will portend for New York’s future?