Trump, again, gushes over NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani despite criticism over ICE, Minneapolis

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Jan 27, 2026

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President Donald Trump once again is showering NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani with compliments, even after the mayor issued sharp attacks on Trump’s actions publicly and directly to the president.

In a Tuesday morning appearance on right-wing radio host Sid Rosenberg’s morning show, Trump acknowledged his political differences with Mamdani, but said he gets along “very well” with the mayor.

“I think he’s got a really good personality,” the president said. “I think he’s got tremendous assets, but he’s got some things … policy, concepts, that really haven’t worked over the last 10,000 years.”

The complimentary comments echo a remarkably friendly White House meeting between Trump and Mamdani in November following the mayor’s general election victory. During that session, the president showered Mamdani with compliments and said he’d do what he could to “help” the mayor’s administration. The meeting marked the start of what some observers are calling an unlikely political “bromance.”

This week, Trump’s comments come after Mamdani this month attacked the president for various federal actions, including ICE’s killings in Minnesota, immigration crackdowns and pauses in federal funding.

“He called your administration evil after [Renee Goode] was murdered, Mr. President,” Rosenberg told the president. “He actually came out and said he wants to abolish ICE on The View and in a tweet yesterday. So I want to give the guy a chance, because you are, but when people badmouth Trump, I get very upset.”

“You know, it’s politics,” Trump replied.

“It’s a nasty world. It’s a nasty profession, if you want to know the truth, it really is. But I got along very well with him.”

Mamdani has said he also texts with Trump about issues that impact New Yorkers.

Trump also said on-air that he has a cordial relationship with Gov. Hochul:

“She calls me, ‘Hi, President. Hi, hi. How you doing?’ … She cannot be nicer. And then I’ll see [her] the following day on television, knocking the hell out of me.”