Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

On Friday, President Donald Trump and mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani finally met in a highly-anticipated White House meeting following months of contentious rhetoric and a long looming threat of federal action in the city. But fears of a replay of Trump’s tense sit-down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were ultimately unfounded as the pair appeared before the cameras with a cordial air, the president offering praise and high expectations for Mamdani. “I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great,” he said.

Here’s a look at what’s emerged in the aftermath so far.

Trump indicated he will hold off on sending the National Guard to NYC (for now)

Throughout the mayoral race, Trump threatened to take federal action in the city if Mamdani was elected from withholding funding or enacting a federal takeover like he attempted in Washington, D.C. earlier this year.

On Saturday, Trump was asked by a reporter if he still intended to deploy the National Guard in New York City as he’s previously floated. The president signaled that he had no immediate plans to do so following his sit-down with Mamdani.

“If they need it. Right now, other places need it more,” he said. “We had a very good meeting yesterday. We talked about that.”

Trump praised the mayor-elect’s decision to retain NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch once he takes office, noting that she has been applauded for her work so far in the Adams administration and that she is close with his daughter Ivanka.

In an interview with CNN, Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, cited Tisch’s appointment as he suggested that Trump’s threats to withhold federal funding from the city could also be off the table for now:

TAPPER: Right before the election, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City if Mamdani were elected. Was that just bluster? He doesn’t mean it?HASSETT: Well, it feels like he doesn’t mean it now pic.twitter.com/jGxSlbsa0d

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 23, 2025

Mamdani said he still thinks Trump is a fascist

One of the most notable moments from the pair’s public appearance was when a reporter pressed Mamdani on his past critiques of Trump, noting that he had suggested the president was a “fascist” and a “despot.” As Mamdani began to answer whether he still held those opinions of the man he just met, Trump notably cut in and batted away the inquiry.

“That’s ok. You can just say yes. That’s easier. It’s easier than explaining,” Trump said with a laugh, patting Mamdani on the arm.

NBC’s Kristen Welker raised the question again during Mamdani’s appearance on Meet the Press Sunday, asking if he still believed that Trump was a fascist and a threat to democracy. The mayor-elect said he did.

Welker: Do you think that President Trump is a fascist?Mamdani: That’s something that I’ve said in the past. I say it today.Welker: You’ve called him a despot. Do you still believe President Trump is a threat to the democracy?Mamdani: Everything that I’ve said in the past,… pic.twitter.com/Qa7H5ej9er

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 23, 2025

“Everything that I’ve said in the past, I continue to believe,” Mamdani said.

Welker asked Mamdani how he could work with someone that he views in that manner. “I think working for the people of New York City demands that you work with everyone and anyone and that you always look to find those areas of agreement while not overlooking the places of disagreement,” he said, noting that he and Trump discussed immigration, a key point of contention between them.

Hochul saw an opening

One surprising outcome from Friday’s meeting was Trump’s brief foray into the state’s governor’s race after the president said he didn’t agree with Republican Representative Elise Stefanik’s assertion that Mamdani was a “jihadist.” Stefanik made Mamdani’s impending mayoralty a central part of her gubernatorial campaign launch earlier this month, seeking to connect him to Governor Kathy Hochul who endorsed his candidacy.

“She’s out there campaigning. You say some things sometimes in a campaign. You really have to ask her about it,” Trump said Friday. “I met with a man who’s a very rational person.”

The Hochul campaign was quick to tout Trump’s dismissal with communications director Sarafina Chitika writing in a statement, “The entire country just watched Donald Trump throw Elise Stefanik under the bus the same way she’s been throwing New Yorkers under the bus for years.”

Stefanik, a longtime Trump backer, addressed the moment in a statement of her own, doubling down on her message while not lingering on her disagreement with the president. “We all want NYC to succeed. But we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. If he walks like a jihadist, if he talks like a jihadist, if he campaigns like a jihadist, if he supports jihadists, he’s a jihadist. And he’s Kathy Hochul’s jihadist,” she said.

Hochul fired back during an appearance on MSNBC. “She’s full of shit. I mean, she really is. I mean, this is such an extreme position,” she said.

Elise Stefanik is full of shit. pic.twitter.com/MGXIaG8Tpl

— Kathy Hochul (@KathyHochul) November 22, 2025

The governor continued, “I hope she’s proud of herself. Continuing to spew hateful thoughts and deeds and trying to create more violence in our political rhetoric. I think it’s disgusting. It’s abhorrent. But that’s who she is and people are seeing this. And even the president realized that’s even too far for him.”

Many Republicans were flummoxed

Some of Trump’s most staunch supporters appeared taken aback by the president’s friendly sit-down with Mamdani. Republican City Council member Inna Vernikov, who predicted that Trump would “SCHOOL” Mamdani in their meeting, appeared let down by what took place.

“Mamdani should have been given a spanking at the White House. Disappointed that instead, he was legitimized,” she wrote on social media.

Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican House member representing New York City, suggested that she was a little put off by the friendliness of their encounter, but hope that the city could ultimately benefit from their dynamic.

“They seemed a little too chummy in my opinion, but they seemed to find some common ground. The problem is, you know, these people who are self-proclaimed socialists, they are wolves in sheep’s clothing,” she told Fox News. “And so I’m not very optimistic, although I am hopeful, that they’ll be able to find some common ground for the betterment of New York.

Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer appeared enraged by the meeting, writing that she had to drink a bottle of ginger ale because it “physically nauseate[d]” her to see Mamdani in the Oval Office. “

The New York Times notes that some MAGA influencers nonetheless tried to spin the meeting as a win:

Many of the MAGA faithful opted for a more tentative approach, spotlighting the president’s softer side. One influential white nationalist account argued that Mr. Trump was sparing Mr. Mamdani a public humiliation. Another post making the rounds, by a pro-Trump YouTuber, suggested the interaction between the two men was proof of the president’s sense of humor.

And Steve Bannon suggested on his podcast that it was all a set up for Mamdani to fail: “He’s going to boost Mr. Mamdani, whose policies will crater the city. Trump will let him collapse because he’s a Marxist jihadist.”

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Highlights From the Trump-Mamdani Meeting at the White House

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