NEW YORK: New York&#39;s incoming leftist mayor Zohran Mamdani said Sunday he still believes US President Donald Trump is a fascist, even after the two had a warm meeting at the White House. &quot;That&#39;s something that I&#39;ve said in the past, I say it today,&quot; the mayor-elect said on NBC news. The self-described Democratic Socialist on Friday met the Republican leader, setting aside months of mutual recriminations and promising to cooperate on the city&#39;s future. Trump, who had previously suggested the Ugandan-born New Yorker should be deported, even came to his rescue as the two addressed reporters at the White House on Friday. When a journalist asked Mamdani if he continued to view Trump as a fascist, the president stepped in. &quot;That&#39;s OK. You can just say it. That&#39;s easier,&quot; Trump told Mamdani. &quot;It&#39;s easier than explaining it. I don&#39;t mind.&quot; In his NBC interview Sunday morning, Mamdani elaborated: &quot;I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that has brought us to this moment,&quot; he said. He added: &quot;I found in the meeting that I had with the president a productive one and a meeting that came back again and again to the central themes of the campaign that we ran: the cost of housing, cost of child care, the cost of groceries, the cost of utilities.&quot; After threatening to cut federal funding to the United States&#39; biggest city and sending in the National Guard, Trump at the White House praised Mamdani&#39;s historic election win, said he could do a &quot;great job.&quot; &quot;We&#39;re going to be helping him to make everybody&#39;s dream come true: having a strong and very safe New York,&quot; Trump said.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 21: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (L) in the Oval Office of the White House on November 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Im

Americas

New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani reaffirmed calling President Trump a fascist despite a cordial White House meeting, saying they openly discussed disagreements but focused on shared priorities like housing and living costs as Trump pledged cooperation.

New York mayor-elect Mamdani still views Trump as fascist

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style='font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;' id="isPasted">NEW YORK:&nbsp;The stage is set Thursday for the first debate of the New York City mayoral election, with Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa looking to halt the momentum of Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, who already defeated the once-powerful New York governor in the primary this summer. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Cuomo, who&#39;s now running as an independent, the stakes are high. The debate is one of his last chances to sway voters to his side and convince them that going with Mamdani would be a mistake. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The race is also Cuomo&rsquo;s attempt at a political comeback after he resigned as governor four years ago following a barrage of sexual harassment allegations. He denies wrongdoing but has been trailed by heavy criticism over the scandal, along with other damaging baggage he picked up during his tenure as governor. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, is in a more comfortable position, though he will need to fend off two hours of sharp jabs from Cuomo while maintaining the hopeful, charming vibe that has characterized his campaign.<img data-fr-image-pasted="true" src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/2b228499-f627-4aac-ba37-0a033f3d4c05-AP25288704706240.jpg" alt="New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during an interview on " style="box-sizing: border-box; border-style: none; max-width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; color: rgb(65, 65, 65); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" id="isPasted" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(75, 85, 99); font-style: italic; margin-top: 0.25rem; display: block; text-align: left; font-family: sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; line-height: 2;">New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during an interview on &quot;The Story with Martha MacCallum&quot; at Fox News on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)</figcaption> <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, Sliwa, the colorful creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, hopes to land a major upset in the deeply blue city. Sliwa received almost 30% of the vote when he last ran as the GOP candidate four years ago. This time around he&#39;s hoping Mamdani and Cuomo split the Democratic vote while he secures Republicans and centrists to come out on top. <figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/54857c18-d4cb-44b6-8118-fabf3510e1ad-AP25288801959872.jpg" alt="FILE - New York City Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa speaks during a New York Young Republicans Club vigil for Charlie Kirk at Madison Square Park on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur,File)" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption style="text-align: center; line-height: 2;">FILE - New York City Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa speaks during a New York Young Republicans Club vigil for Charlie Kirk at Madison Square Park on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur,File)</figcaption></figure> <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The race has catapulted Mamdani to national political stardom, with Republicans, including President Donald Trump, trying to turn him into the face of the Democratic Party by highlighting his most controversial past comments and positions and casting him as dangerous, a communist, and an antisemite. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump has threatened to arrest Mamdani, to deport him and even to take over the city if he wins. Mamdani is a naturalized U.S. citizen. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mamdani has tried to distance himself from some of his past statements, including calling the New York Police Department &ldquo;a major threat to public safety,&rdquo; and his refusal, during the Democratic primary, to disavow use of the phrase &ldquo;globalize the intifada,&rdquo; which is seen as a call to violence for many Jews. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mamdani&#39;s brand of economic populism &mdash; a laser focus on lowering the city&#39;s astronomical cost of living through the idea that government should do more to help the lower and middle classes instead of the wealthy &mdash; has generated buzz and excitement.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the same time, the state assemblyman&#39;s calls to raise taxes on the wealthy and intense criticisms of the Israeli government&#39;s military actions in Gaza have unnerved some centrists and conservatives. That&#39;s where Cuomo&#39;s rebooted campaign sees its path to victory. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The former governor has painted Mamdani as a potentially dangerous leader who would lead the city into financial and social ruin, while casting himself as a competent manager who can handle the city&#39;s expansive bureaucracy and finances. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, suspended his reelection campaign late last month, after being deeply wounded by a now-dismissed federal corruption case and his relationship with the Trump administration. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A poll of New York City likely voters conducted by Quinnipiac University in early October, after Adams ended his bid for a second term, found that Mamdani continued to hold a lead over Cuomo. The poll suggested that Cuomo may have benefited somewhat from Adams&rsquo; departure, but the current mayor&rsquo;s exit did not appear to have a meaningful impact on the state of the race. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adams was not included in the poll but remains on the November ballot because he didn&#39;t withdraw his candidacy before a balloting deadline. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The candidates are scheduled to meet for a second and final debate next week.<figure class="fr-media" style="line-height: 2;"> </figure>

          FILE - Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks to supporters during a Democratic primary watch party, June 24, 2025, in New York. 

The stage is set Thursday for the first debate of the New York City mayoral election, with Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa looking to halt the momentum of Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, who already defeated the once-powerful New York governor in the primary this summer.

Articles tagged with "Mamdani"

New York mayor-elect Mamdani still views Trump as fascist

Cuomo, Sliwa aim to blunt Mamdani's momentum in first NYC mayoral debate