The facts
The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump plans to meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday. This meeting is scheduled to occur during Trump's travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. According to Mamdani's communications director, Anna Bahr, the meeting will be held at Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence. Bahr stated that the two leaders would discuss issues impacting the city and its inhabitants. The White House has confirmed the meeting but has not provided further details. The AP noted that Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, previously defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary and subsequently won the general election. During the 2025 campaign, Trump had characterized Mamdani as a "communist lunatic." However, the AP described Trump as having been warm in his interactions with Mamdani following Mamdani's election victory. Their first meeting after the election was described as cordial, and Trump reportedly told Mamdani that he could surprise some conservatives. In a subsequent meeting in February, Mamdani presented Trump with a mock New York Daily News front page that referenced the city's historical experience with federal financial pressure.
Our take
President Donald Trump, who once called Mayor Zohran Mamdani a “communist lunatic,” is now schlepping up to Gracie Mansion for a little chat. The White House, in a stunning display of having nothing fucking interesting to say, confirmed the meeting but offered no details, which is the political equivalent of a shrug emoji. Mamdani’s comms director says they’ll talk about “issues affecting the city,” which is a polite way of saying they’ll argue about who gets to hold the plunger when the federal budget backs up the toilet of municipal finance.
The Associated Press, with its trademark gift for spotting a dog humping a leg, notes that Trump has been ‘warm’ towards the mayor since his election. This is the same man he campaigned against by screaming ‘communist lunatic’ into a bullhorn. Now he’s all chummy, suggesting Mamdani could ‘surprise some conservatives.’ Surprise them by what? Not seizing the means of production over a pastrami on rye? The only thing getting seized here is the narrative, as Trump tries to buddy up to a guy he spent years painting as a Bolshevik bogeyman.
Their last meeting featured Mamdani handing Trump a mock front page about New York getting financially fucked by Washington. It’s the perfect gift for the man who understands property values, bankruptcy, and fucking over partners better than anyone. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, probably just wanted to remind him that the city’s bills are coming due, and the landlord - the federal government - is being a cheap bastard. Trump looking at that page is the universe’s joke: the king of leveraged debt being served a historical invoice.
So they’ll meet at the mayor’s house, a building Trump would doubtless list as ‘cozy, needs vision.’ They’ll discuss ‘the city.’ Trump will pretend he’s always respected hard-working socialists, and Mamdani will pretend he hasn’t already drafted the eviction notice for this whole corrupt fucking arrangement. The cordiality is thicker than a congealed pizza slice. The only thing getting resolved is the mystery of how long a former president can keep a straight face while schmoozing a man he thinks wants to turn Mar-a-Lago into a workers’ commune. He’s not warming up to Mamdani; he’s just checking the drapes for resale value.
