(JEWISH VOCE NEWS) In a stunning political turnabout, President Donald Trump and New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani shared a warm, almost jovial meeting at the White House on Friday — a sit-down both men said left them surprisingly aligned on key issues facing America’s largest city.

The pair, who spent months trading bitter insults on the campaign trail, emerged from the Oval Office sounding more like unexpected allies than sworn rivals. Trump, who had previously called Mamdani a “communist lunatic,” said he had undergone “some” changes in his views after their face-to-face conversation.

“I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump said. “I think he is gonna surprise some conservative people.”

Mamdani — a democratic socialist state lawmaker who pulled off a shock victory in New York’s heavily Democratic mayoral race — had requested the meeting to discuss affordability and public safety. What followed was a wide-ranging, unusually cordial 31-minute media availability where both men emphasized their shared love for New York City.

“We agreed on a lot more than I thought,” Trump said. “We want this city of ours that we love to do very well.”

Mamdani echoed that sentiment: “It was a productive meeting focused on our mutual admiration for New York City and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers.”

Trump Disavows “Jihadist” Label 

During the press gaggle, Trump was pressed about Rep. Elise Stefanik’s repeated claims — amplified in The New York Post, as the Post reported — that Mamdani is a “jihadist.” Standing beside Mamdani in the Oval Office, Trump rejected the charge outright.

“I met with a man who’s a very rational person,” Trump said. “A man who really wants to see New York be great again.”

Trump brushed off Stefanik’s rhetoric as campaign-trail bluster as she challenges Gov. Kathy Hochul. Stefanik, however, doubled down online — posting The Post’s Oct. 19 cover about Mamdani’s association with Imam Siraj Wahhaj and insisting, “If he walks like a jihadist … he’s a jihadist,” as the NY Post reported.

Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, sidestepped the dispute but reaffirmed his commitment to keeping Jewish New Yorkers safe, telling reporters: “I care very deeply about Jewish safety and I look forward to rooting out antisemitism across the five boroughs,” the Post reported.

He also restated his criticism of Israel’s military actions, reframing them as opposition to “endless wars” — borrowing a phrase Trump regularly uses.

A Lighthearted Moment: “You Can Just Say Yes”

In one of the more viral moments of the meeting — captured by The U.S. Sun — a reporter asked Mamdani if he still believed Trump was a fascist.

Asked to clarify if he thinks Trump is a fascist, before Mamdani can answer, Trump intervenes and laughs it off, saying, “That’s ok. You can just say yes. That’s easier. It’s easier than explaining.” pic.twitter.com/RfKJd6vAs1

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 21, 2025

Before Mamdani could answer, Trump cut in with a grin: “That’s OK — you can just say yes,” prompting laughter around the Oval Office. Mamdani simply smiled and said “OK,” ending the exchange.

Trump later acknowledged that Mamdani’s views were “out there,” but said people change — including himself.

“I changed a lot from when I first came to office,” Trump said. “We’re gonna see what works, or he’s gonna change also.”

At one point, Trump even mused that he would “happily” return to New York City under a Mamdani administration — a stunning admission from a man who left the city angrily and has long predicted its decline.

Once a Feud — Now a Partnership?

The two men’s political brawl had been one of the most vicious in recent New York history. Trump branded Mamdani a communist, questioned his citizenship, and threatened to yank federal funding if he won — warnings blasted across Truth Social and covered extensively by The Post, which reported Trump’s insistence that NYC would be a “Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster” under Mamdani.

Mamdani, meanwhile, called Trump a fascist, authoritarian, and “Trump’s worst nightmare,” often invoking the president as a foil on the campaign trail.

But after Friday’s meeting, both insisted they would work together. Trump went so far as to pledge federal cooperation:

“I want him to do a good job,” Trump said. “And we’ll help you do a good job.”

Mamdani said New Yorkers — including many Trump voters he met in Queens — shared anxiety over affordability and foreign policy spending.

“People were tired of seeing our tax dollars fund endless wars,” he said, as the NY Post reported.

A New Era for a Bitter Pair

The meeting, which Mamdani described as “customary but important,” may mark a reset in the relationship between the president and the incoming mayor of the nation’s largest city. Even Trump’s staff framed it as symbolic of his willingness to speak with “anyone,” as the Post reported.

While major disagreements remain — particularly over immigration and foreign policy — both men left the Oval Office signaling cooperation.

A feud that once seemed destined to define the city’s future may instead become an uneasy but functional alliance — a political twist as unpredictable as New York itself.