'Ready for whatever happens': NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to meet Trump despite threats

Trump has previously threatened to deport the Uganda-born Democrat and repeatedly called him a communist.

However, Mamdani said Thursday that he is willing to “work with anyone to make life more affordable” for New Yorkers, even the president, who has frequently targeted him, AFP reported.

Pointing to the city’s skyrocketing rents and everyday expenses, Mamdani said voters across the political spectrum backed him because of affordability concerns.

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers, he noted, voted for both Trump and Mamdani in the recent election.

A democratic socialist elected earlier this month with a historic mandate, becoming the first mayoral candidate since 1969 to cross the one-million-vote mark, Mamdani has cast himself as part of the national pushback against a president known for clashing with Democrat-run cities.

“It’s more critical than ever, given the national crisis of affordability. New Yorkers know this struggle better than anyone, and cities everywhere are juggling public safety and federal policies," AFP quoted Mamdani as saying.

He added that it is customary for every incoming New York mayor to meet the US president, and that his office had contacted the White House to arrange the meeting.

Though he acknowledged “many disagreements” with Trump, Mamdani said he intends to “pursue all avenues” to make the city more affordable.

His campaign platform included expanding affordable housing, free bus rides, city-run grocery stores, and subsidised childcare—ideas that some experts have questioned on financial grounds.

Trump, who has leaned into anti-immigrant rhetoric, has mocked Mamdani’s South Asian name and threatened to cut federal funding to New York if the Muslim mayor-elect takes office.

Mamdani has pushed back sharply, calling out the 79-year-old Republican during his victory rally earlier this month.

Meetings at the White House have historically been volatile for leaders who cross Trump; he has publicly berated foreign heads of state—including those of Ukraine and South Africa—during previous Oval Office encounters.