"The event was much anticipated as blood sport, a showdown between a young communist and an old despot, to use their favored insults for each other. Instead, the two men put on such a show of good manners that at times I had to laugh out loud at the stagecraft. After a closed-door meeting, Trump and Mamdani summoned the press, and there was Uncle Donnie seated behind his desk in the Oval Office, beaming as his favorite nephew, Zohran, stood by his right shoulder"
"He is? Trump, after all, had previously posted on Truth Social that Mamdani "looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he's not very smart." He had also threatened to defund the city if Mamdani became mayor. Mamdani, for his part, said of the president on Election Night earlier this month: "If there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.""
""We agree on a lot more than I would have thought," Trump said, peering at Mamdani. "I feel very confident that he can do a very good job." When a reporter asked Mamdani whether he considers the president a fascist, the mayor-elect momentarily fumbled. "I've spoken about-" "That's okay," Trump interjected. "You could just say 'yes.' It's easier-it's easier than explaining it." He smiled indulgently and patted Mamdani on the arm. "I don't mind.""
A widely anticipated hostile encounter between President Donald Trump and New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani instead produced a civil, staged meeting in the Oval Office. After a closed-door session they met the press with Trump praising Mamdani and expressing confidence in his ability, despite earlier Truth Social insults and threats to defund the city. Mamdani had earlier vowed to challenge authoritarian power. During the news conference Trump gently prompted Mamdani when asked about calling the president a fascist and at times behaved indulgently, creating moments that felt performative and surprisingly cordial rather than confrontational.
Read at The Atlantic
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