Zohran Mamdani, who ran for mayor of New York City in part on a promise to stand up to Donald Trump, will meet the US president at the White House on Friday, weeks before taking office.
Mr Trump announced the meeting on social media on Wednesday night, saying that Mr Mamdani had asked for it and labelling him incorrectly as the “Communist Mayor of New York City.” Mr Mamdani is a democratic socialist.
Mr Mamdani, who has fiercely criticised the president’s immigration policies and threats to cut federal funding to the city, confirmed the meeting in a statement. He said in an interview on MS NOW on Wednesday night that his team had reached out to speak to Mr Trump about New Yorkers’ concerns.
“I want to just speak plainly to the president about what it means to actually stand up for New Yorkers and the way in which New Yorkers are struggling to afford this city,” Mr Mamdani said.
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Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked Mr Mamdani and said that his victory would be disastrous for New York, the president’s hometown. His advisers tried to meddle in the election to sink Mamdani, and Trump made a last-minute endorsement of his main rival, former governor Andrew Cuomo.
But in private, Mr Trump has described Mr Mamdani as a talented politician, calling him slick and a good talker, according to two people who discussed the president’s comments on condition of anonymity.
On Sunday, Mr Trump said he was open to a meeting. “We want to see everything work out well for New York,” he said.
As Mr Mamdani’s January 1st inauguration draws near, Mr Mamdani has spoken about trying to find common ground with Mr Trump on issues such as bringing down grocery prices.
Mr Mamdani ran on an affordability message that includes freezing rents on stabilised apartments, making buses free and creating five city-owned grocery stores.
But Mr Mamdani has said that he would stand up to the president if he tried to hurt New Yorkers.
In his victory speech on election night, Mr Mamdani urged Mr Trump to “turn the volume up” – calling out the likelihood that the president was watching and challenging him to take notice of his policies. He vowed that he would defend immigrants like himself. Mr Mamdani was born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent and moved to New York City as a boy.
“Hear me, president Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us,” he said.
Mr Trump’s social media post mentioned Mr Mamdani’s middle name, Kwame, in quotes. Mr Mamdani has said that his father picked his middle name to honour Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Mamdani visited a police memorial with Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, as they announced that she had agreed to stay in her role. Mr Mamdani and Ms Tisch have urged the president not to send the National Guard as he has in other cities.
Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for Mr Mamdani, said in a statement that the meeting was “customary for an incoming mayoral administration.”
“The mayor-elect plans to meet with the president in Washington to discuss public safety, economic security and the affordability agenda that over one million New Yorkers voted for just two weeks ago,” she said.
– This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
