Here we go
Trump to meet Mamdani in the Oval Office tomorrow
Friday’s Oval Office encounter, the first between Trump and the nation’s highest-ranking democratic socialist, will be closely watched for signs of cooperation or open confrontation.
President Donald Trump confirmed that he will host controversial New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office tomorrow (Friday, November 21) in what is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated and potentially explosive meetings of the post-election transition.
Trump announced the sit-down on Truth Social, writing: “We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office Friday, November 21st. Further details to follow.”
Mamdani’s team described the agenda as focused on “public safety, economic security, and the affordability agenda that over one million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago.” The mayor-elect told reporters he intends to “speak plainly to the President about what it means to actually stand up for New Yorkers” and the city’s skyrocketing cost of living, an issue he noted many New Yorkers cited when voting for Trump.
The meeting comes against a backdrop of sharp personal and political animosity: Mamdani has repeatedly condemned Trump’s past deportation policies and threats to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities.
Trump has labeled Mamdani’s democratic socialism as something that “will destroy the city” and warned that New York must fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
On election night, Mamdani delivered a direct televised message to Trump: “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him… Turn the volume up.”
White House officials say Trump wants “everything to work out well for New York,” while conservative commentators like CNN’s Scott Jennings have predicted the President will use the meeting to firmly remind the inexperienced mayor-elect (whom Jennings mocked as “never having had a job before”) that international diplomacy and federal law enforcement are presidential prerogatives, not decisions for the mayor of New York.
Key flashpoints expected:
Any attempt by NYC to obstruct ICE deportations or honor ICC arrest warrants (including against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu).
Federal funding leverage over sanctuary-city policies.