President Donald Trump offered an optimistic view of the direction of New York City after meeting with Democratic socialist Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday.Forget it, this does nothing to properly address the bad things Mamdani said during his campaign, and only excuses him for the offensive statements he made about Trump too. In fact, it dampens the impact of Trump's previous meeting with South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa, where the POTUS took a more objective stance regarding some of the most awful things going on the country Ramaphosa's leading, including, but not limited to, anti-white racism. Sure, Trump may have hinted he's ready to withhold funding for NYC if Mamdani follows through on anything bad, but even so, this is not the tour de force White House meeting many may have been hoping for. And that's a real shame. It won't improve the USA's situation.
During a press conference that followed, Trump said the two found common ground in their desires to reduce the cost of living, while also cracking down on crime. He also acknowledged that Mamdani has “views that are a little out there,” adding that he’s likely to change.
“I feel very confident that he could do a very good job. I think he is gonna surprise some conservative people, actually,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office.
Update: as noted here, Trump also failed to address Mamdani's anti-Israel rants:
After the meeting, Mamdani repeated his claims that the government of Israel is carrying out "genocide in Gaza," and said that the U.S. government is funding those actions.Through his spokeswoman, Mamdani continues to take a double-standard on the issue of immigrating to Israel, and Trump's failure to discuss Mamdani's use of a forked tongue approach is hugely disappointing.
"“I shared with the president in our meeting about the concern that many New Yorkers have about wanting their tax dollars to go toward the benefit of New Yorkers and their ability to afford basic dignity. There’s a desperate need not only for the following of human rights but also the following through on the promises we’ve made New Yorkers. We've spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide and I’ve spoken about our government funding it."
President Trump did not respond to those remarks during the meeting with reporters. When Mamdani was asked about the president's efforts to advance agreements in the Middle East, he replied "I appreciate all efforts toward peace. We’re tired of seeing our tax dollars fund endless wars, and I also believe that we have to follow through on the international human rights, and I know that still today those are being violated, and that continues to be work that has to be done, no matter where we’re speaking of.”
Later, Trump was asked about Mamdani's threat to detain Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to New York, and he briefly answered, "We did not discuss that."
In addition, Mamdani's spokeswoman Dora Pekec, referenced his recent objections to the Nefesh B'Nefesh event held in a New York synagogue: "The Mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so. He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law."