Curious turn: Trump jokes about being called a ‘fascist’—Mamdani responds

Washington: During a meeting with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, US President Donald Trump struck an unexpectedly cordial tone, telling Mamdani he would be “okay” if he continued to call him a “fascist,” a label Mamdani had used during his campaign, CNN reported.

When asked if he still stood by the remark, Mamdani began, “I’ve spoken about it…,” but Trump quickly interjected: “That’s okay. You can just say yes. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind,” he said.

Earlier, Trump described the Oval Office discussion as “great” and “very productive.” He congratulated Mamdani on his election victory and said the two leaders found common ground on key issues, including housing development and rising food prices.

“We’ve just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting. One thing in common, we want this city of ours that we love to do very well,” Trump said. “And we talked about things in very strong common, like housing and getting housing built, and food prices. The price of oil is coming way down,” he added.

Trump also suggested Mamdani could defy expectations across the political spectrum. “I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor. The better he does, the happier I am. I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually, and some very liberal people,” he said to CNN.

Standing beside Trump, Mamdani echoed the sentiment, describing the meeting as highly productive and focused on cost-of-living challenges facing New Yorkers. “I appreciated the meeting with the president… focused on a place of shared admiration and love, New York City,” he told CNN.

He added that they discussed issues driving residents out of the city, including rent, groceries, and utilities: “I appreciated the conversation and look forward to working together to deliver affordability for New Yorkers,” Mamdani said.

Trump and Mamdani’s meeting comes after months of heated public exchanges. During the campaign, Mamdani had described Trump as a threat to democracy, while Trump repeatedly called Mamdani a “100 per cent communist lunatic” and endorsed his opponent, Andrew Cuomo, according to The New York Times.

Despite this, Mamdani reached out to the White House to discuss New York’s affordability crisis ahead of taking office on January 1.

He told The New York Times that maintaining a functional relationship with the federal government is “critical to the success of the city” and emphasized he would cooperate where it benefits residents while opposing harmful policies.

What was expected to be a clash became a surprisingly productive and civil conversation. Both leaders signalled readiness to work together on city priorities, showing that even deep political divides can be bridged when shared goals—like New York affordability—take centre stage, CNN reported.