Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani previewed on Thursday his strategy to his highly-anticipated assembly with President Trump scheduled for Friday.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani previewed his strategy on Thursday to a extremely anticipated White Home assembly with Donald Trump, deliberate for Friday, whereas attempting to guarantee New Yorkers that he’s prepared for regardless of the president may throw his approach.
Mamdani sought the assembly to debate skyrocketing prices within the 5 boroughs and “balancing public safety with steps taken by this administration.”
The latter level appeared to seek advice from Trump’s heavy-handed immigration crackdown and threats to ship the Nationwide Guard to the 5 boroughs. Earlier this week, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan indicated ICE can be stepping up its operations within the Large Apple.
Nonetheless, Mamdani insisted that he and Trump may discover frequent floor on making life extra reasonably priced for New Yorkers, on condition that many who supported the president within the 2024 election.
“I will work with anyone to make life more affordable for the more than eight and a half million people who have called the city home,” Mamdani mentioned. “I have many disagreements with the president and I believe that we should be relentless and pursue all avenues and all meetings that can make our city affordable for every single New Yorker.”
The mayor-elect referenced a video he recorded in the beginning of his marketing campaign final yr wherein he spoke to native Trump voters about their selections within the 2024 election. Lots of these he interviewed had mentioned they’d assist the affordability agenda that in the end propelled Mamdani to victory a yr later.
Mamdani added that he sees “protecting” New Yorkers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers as linked to his broader agenda. He didn’t particularly say on Thursday if or how he would convey that up with Trump.
New York News reached out to the White Home for remark and is awaiting a response.
Trump has made no secret of his disdain for Mamdani. He publicly backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani’s chief rival, the day earlier than the Nov. 4 basic election. Throughout the election, the president repeatedly threatened to chop off federal funding to town if Mamdani had been to win.
Even in saying the assembly on Reality Social, his social media platform, on Wednesday evening, Trump once more falsely labeled Mamdani a communist and put his center title, Kwame, in citation marks.
The president has used previous Oval Workplace conferences with officers, corresponding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to brow-beat them in entrance of TV cameras. Whereas Mamdani mentioned he’s “not concerned” about Trump attempting to make use of the gathering to publicly embarrass him, he was tight-lipped about how precisely he plans to deal with such a transfer by the president.
“I’ll be ready for whatever happens,” Mamdani mentioned.
It’s not clear whether or not the assembly between Trump and Mamdani shall be public or behind closed doorways.
