New York City Mayor-elect Zahran Mamdani said Thursday that he was “not worried” about him Next meeting With President Donald Trump it could be a political trap, as he has pledged instead to focus sitting in the Oval Office on how to work to make the city more affordable.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic socialist, is scheduled to travel to Washington to meet with Trump on Friday, a potential pairing between the opposing politicians who have been at loggerheads for months.
At a press conference outside New York City Hall, Mamdani He said he hoped to “share the facts about the city’s affordability crisis” while throwing in the towel that the president could use the meeting to embarrass him.
“I have many disagreements with the president and I think we have to be tough and pursue all the avenues and all the meetings that can make our city accessible to every New Yorker,” he said.
Mamdani He had a stunning win in New York City Mayoral race This month with a campaign focused largely on the city’s affordability crisis, promising to shift government power toward helping the working class while also fighting against a hostile Trump administration.
Trump He has railed against Mamdani for months, warning that his hometown would descend into chaos under the leadership of young progressives, and suggesting he would withhold federal funds from the city if Mamdani wins. Trump also called him incorrectly Communist It threatened to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda but became a naturalized US citizen in 2018.
The president announced the meeting in a social media post Wednesday night, putting Mamdani Kwame’s middle name in quotes while incorrectly referring to him as the “Communist Mayor of New York City.”
Mamdani brushed off the idea that he was walking into a hostile meeting with Trump, telling reporters on Thursday: “I’m not worried about this meeting. I view this meeting as an opportunity to make my case, and I will make this case to anyone.”
When Mamdani came under further pressure, he said he would explain to the president that he was there as an envoy to the city, not just a political newcomer.
“For me, it’s not about myself. It’s about the relationship between the City of New York and the White House, and the president, and the federal administration. And I’ll look to make clear that my concern goes beyond any one individual, but it’s about the people I’m looking to represent,” he said.
When asked if he intended to raise the president’s threats to strengthen immigration enforcement in New York, Mamdani tried to return to his affordability argument.
“I think affordability was at the core of our campaign, and affordability was also based on the value of protecting every New Yorker,” he said. “That means protecting them from price gouging in their lives, but it also means protecting them from ICE agents and making it clear that I will look to represent each person individually.”
Mamdani will take over as mayor next year, succeeding current Mayor Eric Adams, who has been traveling abroad and posted a photo on X Thursday morning of himself alongside an Uzbek official.
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