The mayor-elect of New York City, Zohran Mamdani has reiterated his view that President Donald Trump is both a “fascist” and a “despot”, despite a surprisingly warm encounter between the two men at the White House last week.
Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Mamdani was asked whether he still considered Trump a threat to democracy. He replied firmly: “Everything that I’ve said in the past I continue to believe. I think it is important in our politics that we don’t shy away from where we have disagreements.”
The remarks followed his victory speech on 4 November, in which Mamdani declared that New York had shown it could be the “light” in a “moment of political darkness”. In that address, he directly criticised Trump, saying: “If there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up.”
The relationship between the two figures has been marked by sharp exchanges in recent months. Trump has dismissed Mamdani as a “communist lunatic”, while Mamdani has consistently attacked the president’s conduct and policies. Against this backdrop, their meeting at the White House was widely anticipated and expected to be fraught. Instead, it produced an unexpectedly cordial atmosphere.
Trump, speaking afterwards, expressed confidence in Mamdani’s ability to govern. “I feel very confident that he can do a good job,” the president said. “I think he’s going to surprise some conservative people, actually.” He added that the pair had agreed on more issues than he had expected, particularly around housing, food prices and the broader cost-of-living crisis.
The two men also bonded over their shared affection for New York. “We agreed a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump remarked, even stepping in at times to shield Mamdani from aggressive questioning by reporters in the Oval Office.
Mamdani, reflecting on the meeting during his NBC interview, said: “It was a conversation where we spoke about the need to deliver on this agenda. I appreciated how the president took the time to tour me around the cabinet and point out the portraits of previous presidents. We were not shy about the places of disagreement about the politics that has brought us to this moment, and we also wanted to focus on what it could look like to deliver on.”
Beyond his exchanges with Trump, Mamdani addressed questions about his decision to retain Jessica Tisch as police commissioner. Tisch, appointed under former mayor Eric Adams, has been credited with reducing crime across the five boroughs. Mamdani praised her record, saying: “She has driven down crime across the five boroughs while starting to uproot corruption that was endemic in the top echelons of that department under Mayor Adams.”
The decision drew approval from the White House. Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNN’s State of the Union that the administration was reassured by Mamdani’s choice. “We are really reassured that he has kept the police commissioner. In previous administrations in New York, we have seen law and order really go south,” Hassett said.
Tisch herself acknowledged differences with the incoming mayor in an email to rank-and-file officers, reported by The New York Times. “Do the mayor-elect and I agree on everything? No, we don’t,” she wrote. Tisch has supported Adams’s plan to hire 5,000 additional uniformed officers, whereas Mamdani has stated he intends to maintain current staffing levels.
The developments highlight the complex political landscape Mamdani will inherit as he prepares to take office. His willingness to confront Trump directly, while also finding common ground on pressing economic and social issues, suggests a pragmatic approach to governance. At the same time, his decision to retain Tisch signals continuity in policing, even as he resists calls for significant expansion of the force.
For now, Mamdani appears determined to balance his sharp criticism of the president with a readiness to collaborate where possible. Whether this delicate equilibrium can be sustained once he assumes office remains to be seen, but his remarks on Sunday made clear that his fundamental view of Trump has not shifted, despite the cordiality of their recent meeting.
