Hours after the United States House of Representatives approved a bipartisan resolution denouncing what it called the “horrors of socialism,” New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani arrived in Washington for his first meeting with President Donald Trump, a moment between two politicians who spent months trading insults.
Source: JIM WATSON / Getty
According to Time, reporters entered the Oval Office on Friday and found Trump seated at his desk with Mamdani standing beside him, both smiling as they described a productive discussion centered on affordability, public safety, and building more housing in New York City. Time reports Trump said,
“I expect to be helping him, not hurting him.”
Mamdani told reporters the meeting emphasized their “shared purpose” in serving New Yorkers facing a cost-of-living crisis. Time also states the exchange turned briefly tense when a reporter asked Mamdani whether he still considered Trump a fascist, but Trump diffused the moment, laughing and saying,
“That is ok, you can just say yes.”
CONGRESS MOVES AGAINST SOCIALISM WHILE MAMDANI STEALS THE SPOTLIGHT
CBS News reports the House approved the resolution by a vote of 285 to 98. The resolution states that Congress “denounces socialism in all its forms.” Its timing coincided directly with Mamdani’s arrival in Washington for the meeting with Trump.
Eighty-six Democrats voted alongside Republicans, including New York members Hakeem Jeffries, Ritchie Torres, Greg Meeks, Grace Meng, Laura Gillen, and Tom Suozzi.
Two Democrats voted present.
In CBS News, Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis supported the measure and said her mother fled Cuba to escape “the very things that our new socialist mayor in New York City says he wants.”
Standing beside Trump after their Oval Office meeting, Mamdani dismissed the resolution’s relevance. CBS News quotes him saying,
“I focused very little on resolutions. I have been focusing on the work at hand.”
DEMOCRATS CROSS THE AISLE, BUT THE MOMENT STILL BELONGS TO MAMDANI
Eighty-six Democratic yes votes did not overshadow Mamdani’s stance.
Newsweek via MSN reports the full list of Democratic supporters totaled 86 names across California, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and other states. The outlet notes the vote reflected internal Democratic tension over Mamdani’s rise, with some members fearing Republican attacks on socialism heading into the 2026 midterms.
The article quotes Mamdani again, saying that during the White House news conference,
“There might be differences about ideology, but the place of agreement is the work that needs to be done to make New York City affordable.”
THE MAMDANI EFFECT FLIPS GOP TALKING POINTS UPSIDE DOWN
Trump publicly defends the democratic socialist Republicans planned to attack.
According to AP News, Trump’s embrace of Mamdani disrupted a key GOP messaging plan that cast Mamdani as a symbol of the Democratic Party’s shift leftward. AP News reports Trump rejected claims from Republican Elise Stefanik that Mamdani is a “jihadist,” telling reporters,
“I just met with a man who is a very rational person. The better he does, the happier I am,” adding that he would be comfortable living again in a Mamdani led New York.
Trump even offered unexpected praise for Bernie Sanders, saying the two agreed on more than people realized. The Oval Office remarks marked a significant shift from Trump’s earlier attacks on Mamdani, which sources confirm included calling him a “communist lunatic” and threatening to cut federal funding if he won.
AFFORDABILITY BECOMES THE MEETING POINT — AND MAMDANI OWNS THE MESSAGE
Both men lean into the issue Mamdani used to win New York.
AP News reports Trump used the meeting to emphasize affordability, a core theme of Mamdani’s campaign. Trump said,
“Anything I do is going to be good for New York if I can get prices down.”
He added that affordability and groceries were “the new words” shaping his economic message, even as AP News notes inflation has reached three percent annually.
Mamdani repeatedly tied his victory to voters who crossed party lines because of cost-of-living issues. Time reports he said,
“There were more New Yorkers who voted for President Trump in the most recent presidential election because of that focus on cost of living.”
A BOOST TO MAMDANI’S AGENDA AS TRUMP WARMS UP
AP News notes the meeting may ease fears among Mamdani’s supporters that Trump would retaliate against his election. Trump previously threatened to deploy the National Guard in New York and considered withholding federal funds. The outlets shares that after the meeting Trump said,
“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job.”
Critics speculate that support from the president may give Mamdani more room to pursue policy goals like universal free childcare and expanded affordability programs, which require significant funding and stability.
THE BOTTOM LINE: THE MAMDANI EFFECT IS REAL
On a day Congress tried to condemn socialism, the democratic socialist in the Oval Office set the tone.
Sources say Mamdani left Washington with something unusual for a mayor elect who campaigned against the sitting president: a handshake, televised praise, and evidence that even his fiercest critics may be responding to the momentum behind him.
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