New York City's new Democratic Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he "will reach out" to President Donald Trump to foster cooperation, Breitbart reported. The 34-year-old expressed his intention to quit playing politics and do what's best for the city, which is a refreshing change from the way the rest of his party has handled the GOP president.
Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, handily won the race to become the mayor of the Big Apple. He beat out former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after Mamdani crushed him in the Democratic primary, and the GOP choice, Curtis Slewa.
Now that the 34-year-old is ready to get down to business, he sat down with NBC New York’s Melissa Russo and said he would take a different approach with Trump than others in his party. While the rest of the Democratic Party is fighting him tooth and nail, Mamdani reversed course and said he would be the one to reach out first.
Flanked by First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan in the interview, Mamdani promised a new approach and stated that he "will be proactive" when it comes to speaking with Trump to prevent his immigration crackdown in the city. Mamdani has spoken out about Trump's practice of sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or the National Guard into America's cities, and he believes he can dissuade Trump with his goodwill.
"I will be proactive in the work that I do, and I think that is because the responsibility I hold to 8.5 million people being their mayor," Mamdani told Russo. "It is important that you are open to working with anyone, no matter what disagreements you may have," he added. This is the kind of talk about Trump that sends Democrats into a tailspin, but Mamdani seems to be wiser.
"And, I’ve said this when it pertains to President Trump, that President Trump wants to speak about lowering the cost of living or delivering cheaper groceries like he ran on, I’m there to have that conversation. The distinction will be that previous administrations have looked to have that conversation to the benefit of themselves, in the expense of the people that we look to serve," Mamdani clarified.
Russo asked Mamdani if he would be the one to pick up the phone first, and Mamdani said he would "be reaching out to the White House" before he takes office. "This is a relationship that will be critical to the success of this city," Mamdani noted.
When the host asked what that call would entail, Mamdani said that he would tell Trump he is "here to work for the benefit of everyone that calls" New York City their place of residence. Mamdani also said he will tell Trump he's ready to cooperate with him "wherever there is a possibility for working together towards that end."
This spirit of cooperation with Trump is new for Mamdani, who is singing a different tune than he was immediately following his election to office. During his victory speech, Mamdani called out Trump as a "despot" and urged him to "turn the volume up" to hear his defiant rhetoric, the UK Guardian reported.
The president cited that speech during an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News, and noted that Mamdani got off to a "bad start" with that message. "It was a very angry speech, certainly angry toward me,” Trump told the host.
"I think he should be very nice to me. You know, I’m the one that sort of has to approve a lot of things coming for him. So, he’s off to a bad start," Trump noted. Previously, Mamdani had said the president was "waging war on the First Amendment" and trampling on "constitutional rights" by pursuing illegal immigrants.
Trump told New Yorkers that the choice was now "between communism and common sense" after Mamdani, who proposed city-run grocery stores and open borders, was elected. The president has since vowed that the country is "not going communist in any way, shape or form" as long as he's in the White House.
Mamdani seems to understand what he's up against with Trump and is hopefully ready to back off from his attacks against the president. Meanwhile, Trump does not take kindly to Democrats who allow their cities to be overrun with unvetted illegal immigrants, and the two may clash over that issue, even if Mamdani is more conciliatory than others in his party.
