Trump Says He Plans to Meet With NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani to ‘Work Something Out’

The president’s remarks follow Mamdani’s own overture for cooperation on affordability issues, despite sharp differences in views between the two.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Nov. 4, 2025. Adhiraj Chakrabarti for The Epoch Times

President Donald Trump said Nov. 16 that he plans to meet with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and “work something out,” signaling that he may be open to a working relationship with the self-described democratic socialist, who the president has said is a threat to the city.

“The mayor of New York, I will say, would like to meet with us, and we’ll work something out,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to return to Washington after a weekend in Florida. “We want to see everything work out well for New York.”

Mamdani—who defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by nearly 9 points to become the city’s first democratic socialist mayor—said during a Nov. 12 interview with NBC New York that he intends to reach out to the White House in the coming weeks. The 34-year-old Ugandan-born, naturalized U.S. citizen called the relationship with Washington “critical to the success of the city” and said he is prepared to work with Trump on issues such as lowering the cost of living and delivering cheaper groceries.

He is set to take office in January.

Trump’s comments reflect a softer stance, after the president described Mamdani as a “communist” and threatened to cut off federal support to New York City if voters elected him. At rallies and public appearances throughout the mayoral race, Trump was highly critical of Mamdani, at one point suggesting he could be arrested if he interfered with federal immigration enforcement.

Mamdani rose to national prominence by casting himself as an opponent of Trump’s agenda.

Mamdani has vowed to make New York City the “strongest sanctuary city” in the nation, including by ending all cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and getting ICE out of all city facilities. His broader plan to “Trump-proof” New York City aims to insulate the city from federal pressure, including by boosting immigration-related legal defense funding, shielding personal data from federal access, and expanding protections for transgender medical procedures.

The meeting—if it occurs—would come as Mamdani prepares to undergo federal vetting for a security clearance that incoming New York City mayors are required to obtain before taking office.

Despite the heated campaign-era rhetoric, Trump’s tone toward New York City has softened in recent days. Speaking at a Miami business forum shortly after Democrats notched several statewide wins on Nov. 4, Trump said he wanted the country’s largest city to thrive despite his misgivings about Mamdani’s policies.

“We’re going to see how that works out,” the president said. “We‘ll help them. We want New York to be successful. We’ll help them a little bit.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that no date has been set for a Trump–Mamdani meeting.