The White House meeting between Donald Trump and New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was far friendlier than many observers (including me) predicted. But it wasn’t an agreement over policy. It was a made-for-TV moment that both men will use in America’s long-running battles over cities, affordability, and future of their respective parties.
A Surprisingly Friendly Meeting
Trump especially was much friendlier to Mamdani than I predicted, given Trump’s deep anti-city rhetoric and policies.
One observer who got it right was New York University’s Mitchell Moss, one of our most insightful observers of New York politics. Moss said before the meeting that both men are “natural television performers” who “won against expectations and against establishment party leaders,” and correctly predicted “they are going to get along.”
Unlike most of us, Moss was dead right about the meeting. But the distance between Trump and Mamdani—especially on “affordability”—is unlikely to be bridged by one TV appearance. Trump’s core positions and political support are deeply anti-city and anti-progressive, while Mamdani’s policies and supporters are strongly opposed to most of Trump’s agenda. So it’s hard to see how their “bromance” lasts.
Trump’s Anti-City Policies And Agenda
Trump did not, as I thought he would, use the meeting to restate his anti-urban agenda and set up Mamdani as a villain to scare Americans about left-wing radicals.
Trump is very hostile to cities; it’s been a core part of his message for years. In a recent Vital City article, I detailed Trump’s anti-urban stance:
“He’s called American cities ‘rotting’ and ‘cesspools of blood.’ Atlanta? ‘A killing field.’ San Francisco? ‘Worse than a slum.’ Los Angeles? ‘A trash heap’ that has been ‘invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals.”
And it isn’t just rhetoric. The Republican budget and the “big, beautiful bill” will put severe pressure on city budgets.
According to New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, direct federal funding is only around 6.5% of New York City’s operating budget. But “significantly more federal funding” goes to the State and is redistributed to the city. And federal funds go directly to city residents, “including more than $30 billion in Medicaid expenditures.”
The Trump Administration is cutting all of those urban-oriented funds to cities and states. This in turn will drive internal budget battles within New York and other states. Should New York State make up for the deep Medicaid and other cuts? If so, where will the money come from?
Advocates will press for state and city relief, often through raising taxes, especially on the wealthy. But Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul faces a tough re-election in 2026, and so far has ruled out significant tax increases to cover federal budget cuts.
Trump and Republicans will enjoy this budgetary chaos and internal fighting among Democrats. And Friday’s meeting did nothing to increase federal funding to cities.
“Affordability” And Mamdani’s Balancing Act
Mamdani, an excellent communicator, came off well in the meeting. But his goals and policies are antithetical to Trump’s. During his campaign, Mamdani said he would “Trump-proof” New York, and took a very hostile tone towards the president.
Mamdani successfully used “affordability” as a theme in his election. Although there are substantial questions about his proposed solutions (freezing rents, free buses, city-owned grocery stores), there’s no doubt it helped his campaign succeed. Mamdani highlighted the issue as a main topic for his meeting with Trump, saying he would focus on “the national crisis of affordability.”
Mamdani also is working to reassure New Yorkers that he’s not a wild-eyed radical, and the meeting helped him with that goal. Some observers believe a more moderate Democrat mayoral candidate without Andrew Cuomo’s history of sexual harassment and bullying could have beaten Mamdani, who barely cleared 50%. Compare that to mainstream Democrat Mark Levine, who won the citywide comptroller election with 75%.
It’s important for Mamdani not to seem an irresponsible radical. As Carl Weisbrod recently detailed in Vital City, many of Mamdani’s signature policies—free bus service, building affordable housing, universal childcare, and higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy—depend on the state and federal governments. New York’s mayor doesn’t have the power and finances to support those, much less just keep the city’s budget and services intact.
Finally, Mamdani wants to position himself as a leader in the state and national Democratic parties. He has clear progressive policy beliefs on a wide range of domestic and international issues, and hopes to push Democrats in those directions.
This was shown in Mamdani’s mayoral victory speech, where he took a hard anti-Trump line, arguing that a strong progressive campaign is the way forward for Democrats, saying New Yorkers had chosen “hope over tyranny.” Calling Trump a “despot,” Mamdani said “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”
Affordability: The Political Battleground
“Affordability” is where the two men’s political narratives collide. Mamdani won on it, and Trump is increasingly worried about it, which might account for his friendly tone in Friday’s meeting.
Mamdani successfully tapped worries among New Yorkers, mirrored nationally, about high housing costs, rising food and energy prices, and slow income growth relative to prices. He pushed this message throughout his campaign (including this brilliant Tik Tok video where he dives into the freezing ocean while talking about “freezing your rent.”)
But federal spending cuts baked into the Republican budget and “big, beautiful bill” will exacerbate many affordability issues—housing, transportation, energy, and health care. Mamdani’s framing of the White House meeting as about “the national crisis of affordability” allowed him to put pressure on Trump, who responded nimbly with the communication skills he has shown throughout his political career.
Trump and Republicans are increasingly worried about affordability. National polls show very low and declining approval for the President, with the economy and affordability at the top of the problem list. Trump has recently tried to claim positive action on affordability (somewhat oddly by reducing, but not eliminating, the high tariffs he imposed on coffee, bananas, and other imported food).
But he’s aware of the political risks. Trump recently told a Washington meeting “The word is affordable and affordable. It should be our word, not theirs.”
So “affordability” is not just a policy discussion; it is a branding war. Mamdani wants it to mean expanded public services, economic security, and higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Trump wants it to mean tax cuts, slashing government spending and programs, and blaming immigrants and irresponsible Democratic politicians. Their White House meeting glossed over these differences, but it was only one skirmish on the emerging political battlefield.
A Temporary Truce In A Long-Term Fight?
This meeting wasn’t a policy negotiation; it was a TV op. Trump decided not to make it contentious, employing his formidable television skills.
Trump earlier had labelled Mamdani a “100% communist lunatic” and a “total nut job,” threatening to choke off billions in federal funds if Mamdani won. It’s hard to see how he backs off his policy positions in the long run.
Trump’s continued affability also would undercut Republican candidates in New York and elsewhere. Representative Elsie Stefanik (R-NY) is running for New York governor in 2026, and has consistently labelled Mamdani as a “jihadist” symbolizing Democratic extremism.
But when Trump was asked “do you think you’re standing next to a jihadist right now in the Oval Office?” he answered, “No, I don’t…I met with a man who’s a very rational person.” In the next months, watch Republicans pressure Trump to retract his positive statements about Mamdani.
For Mamdani, the meeting was more complicated. He framed the meeting as pressing Trump on affordability, but he knows Republican budget cuts and anti-urban policies already are locked in. And Trump’s ongoing assaults on immigration further define the two as enemies.
As Friday’s event showed, both men are excellent on TV. The meeting gave both a chance to look reasonable and open to compromise, but their policy positions and political base give them little room to actually move towards each other.
So whether or not they connect personally, they need each other politically as opponents. Trump and Republicans want a clear left-wing villain, while Mamdani sees Trump as a foil where he can define a different vision for cities and the economy, and build his stature within the Democratic Party. We saw two brilliant political performers on Friday, but their underlying conflict remains.