Mamdani still believes Trump is 'fascist' but says they can work together on affordability

Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News on Nov 23, 2025

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New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said Sunday he still believes President Trump is a fascist and despot despite their surprisingly cordial meeting at the White House on Friday — but believes they can work together on affordability.

“Everything that I’ve said in the past, I continue to believe,” Mamdani said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I’m not coming into the Oval Office to make a point or make a stand. I’m coming in there to deliver for New Yorkers.”

Mamdani’s remarks came after a lighthearted exchange at the White House on Friday when a reporter asked Mamdani if he still believed Trump was a fascist and the president urged the mayor-elect, “That’s OK, you can just say yes … It’s easier than explaining it.”

When questioned whether he expected such a warm welcome from Trump, Mamdani downplayed their apparent chemistry, instead talking about how he hoped to work with the president to deliver on Mamdani’s lofty campaign promises around affordability.

The mayor-elect also doubled down on several more of his positions, including backing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the leader of the Democratic Party, keeping Jessica Tisch on as NYPD Commissioner and pushing to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund his ambitious agenda.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she opposes a tax hike.

“The governor and I had a productive conversation. And what we both committed to is working together for the affordability agenda,” Mamdani said of a recent conversation with Hochul. “What I’ve also said is, more important than how we fund something is that we fund something.”

He added that she hopes “she’ll work with me to deliver on affordability” and that “raising taxes makes the most sense.”

Mamdani continued his tightrope act on police funding and NYPD commissioner authority. While he previously spoke of empowering the NYPD’s Civilian Complaint Review Board in disciplinary matters he has recently backpedaled on that stance while apparently negotiating Tisch’s continued tenure.

Recently, Tisch has called for more cops on the street but Mamdani pushed back against that plan on Sunday. Years ago, Mamdani called for defunding the police. He campaigned on a platform to maintain the NYPD’s current headcount of about 35,000.

“I think the commissioner and I have been very clear that what brings us together is a shared importance of public safety. I think we can do that with the officers we have,” he told “Meet the Press.” “What I will tell you is that the 35,000 (cops) we have budgeted, that’s the amount that I think we need.”

In contrast to his other answers, Mamdani left no gray area in his support for Jeffries, a more moderate Brooklyn Democrat. Mamdani’s fellow democratic socialist NYC councilman, Chi Osse, teased a primary challenge against Jeffries but Mamdani has declined to back Osse.

Instead, he directly urged the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America to refuse to endorse Osse, which they did in a tight vote on Saturday night.

“I have no intention of running this race without the support of NYC-DSA, of which I am proud to be a member,” Osse told the Daily News following the vote.

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