Read the full transcript of the Oval Office interaction between President Trump and NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, and the Q&A session that followed, on November 21, 2025.
Trump Welcomes NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani to Oval Office
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. We’ve just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting. We have one thing in common. We want this city of ours that we love to do very well. And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. He really ran an incredible race against a lot of smart people, starting with the early primaries, against some very tough people, very smart people. And he beat them, and he beat them easily. And I congratulated him.
And we talked about some things in very strong common, like housing and getting housing built and food and prices. And the price of oil is coming way down. Anything I do is going to be good for New York. If I can get prices down, it’s good for New York. And we’ve got them down, way down from last year. As you know, I’ve been saying to a lot of people, Walmart said that Thanksgiving this year is exactly 25 percent less than last year. So, that’s good for New York, good for everybody.
But I just want to congratulate. I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor. The better he does, the happier I am, I will say. There’s no difference in party. There’s no difference in anything. And we’re going to be helping him to make everybody’s dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York. And congratulations, Mr. Mayor.
Mamdani Responds: Focus on Affordability for New Yorkers
MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, I appreciate it. Please. I appreciated the meeting with the President and, as he said, it was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City, and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers, the 8.5 million people who call our city their home, who are struggling to afford life in the most expensive city in the United States of America.
We spoke about rent. We spoke about groceries. We spoke about utilities. We spoke about the different ways in which people are being pushed out. And I appreciated the time with the President. I appreciated the conversation. I look forward to working together to deliver that affordability for New Yorkers. Thank you very much.
Q&A Session Begins
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Any questions, please?
REPORTER: President Trump, this is Nelson from the New York Post. I’ve got a question for you and then also one for Mayor West.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Sure.
REPORTER: For you, you referred to Mr. Mamdani as a communist. Can you describe why you feel that way? And also, will you do anything to stop him from arresting Prime Minister Netanyahu if he visits New York?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we didn’t discuss your second part of the question. And on your first part, I mean, he’s got views that are a little out there, but who knows? I mean, we’re going to see what works or he’s going to change also. We all change. I changed a lot. Changed a lot. From when I first came to office, it’s now quite a while ago. It’s quite a while. My first term was great. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country. We’re doing even better now. We’re doing much better now than we did even the first term.
And I can tell you, some of my views have changed. And we had discussions on some things. I’m not going to discuss what they were, but that I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he’s going to be, I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually, and some very liberal people. He won’t surprise them because they already like him.
REPORTER: And, Mr. Mamdani, you promised that you had a productive session. But just days ago, you heard President Trump has suggested you betray the country. He said you’d be his worst nightmare and accused him of having a fascist agenda. Are you planning to retract any of these remarks in order to improve your relationship?
MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI: I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views.
And what I really appreciate about the President is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers. And, frankly, that is something that could transform the lives of 8.5 million people who are currently struggling under a cost-of-living crisis with one in four living in poverty. And the meeting came back again and again to what it could look like to lift those New Yorkers out of struggle and start to deliver them a city that they could do more than just struggle to afford it, but actually start to live in it. And I’ve been called much worse than a despot, so it’s not that insulting. Maybe, I think he’ll change his mind after we get to working together. Yes, please.
REPORTER: [QUESTION INAUDIBLE]
Middle East Peace and Disarmament
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Sure. Well, we are pushing for total disarmament of Hamas, and, frankly, everybody else. And we actually have peace in the Middle East. As you know, the King of Saudi Arabia just left yesterday. We had some great meetings, and he’s made a contribution toward the United States of more than a trillion dollars. We have now over $20 trillion coming in. No country has ever had anything like that, not even close. If you go to $2 trillion or $1 trillion, it’s a lot. We have $20 or $21 trillion.
I think that Hezbollah has been a problem, and Lebanon, a big problem.
We’re working with Lebanon. We’re working with everybody in the Middle East. That’s another thing I think we have in common. We want to see peace in the Middle East. And we actually have now, for the first time, peace in the Middle East after 3,000 years. And now we’re going to refine it. And I think you’re going to see some very positive things happen.
REPORTER: [QUESTION INAUDIBLE]
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, sure. Oh, I would do that. Absolutely, and the mayor would like to be here for that meeting because I know he feels very strongly.
MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI: I think he feels very, very strongly about peace in the Middle East. We desperately want it, and that’s something that I shared with the President, that when I spoke to New Yorkers who had voted for the President last November on Hillside Avenue and Fordham Road, I asked them why. I heard again and again two major reasons. One was that they wanted an end to forever wars. They wanted an end to the taxpayer dollars we had funding violations of human rights. And they wanted to address the cost-of-living crisis. And I appreciated the chance to discuss both of those things.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: He said a lot of my voters actually voted for him. And I’m okay with that. I’ll do that. I’ll sign it. Give it to me. I’ll sign it in a minute. That’s pretty good.
REPORTER: Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President has sent federal troops to New York City. You both have differences when it comes to ICE agents in New York City. Mr. Mamdani called ICE a rogue government entity. I wonder how you reconcile your differences on both of those issues.
ICE and Public Safety in New York
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I think we’re going to work them out. And I think that if we have known murderers and known drug dealers and some very bad people, you know, we want to get them out. And the mayor wants to have peace. We’ve discussed this at great length, actually, maybe more than anything else, that he wants to have a safe New York. Ultimately, a safe New York is going to be a great New York. If it’s not safe, no matter how well we do with pricing and with anything else, we can talk about anything you want. If you don’t have safe streets, it’s not going to be a success. So we’re going to work together. We’re going to make sure that if there are horrible people there, we want to get them out. I think he wants to get them out maybe more than I do. So we’ll work together. We discussed it at great length. Yes, please.
We have two questions. I want you, Mr. President, to lead us in a second. But first of all, to the mayor of that. I think you’re both from different parts of the political spectrum. You’re both populist. I just wonder to what extent the President’s campaign style, his techniques, his social and media use, is prior to any part of your campaign.
MAMDANI: Well, I actually told the President that, you know, so much of the focus of our campaign has been on the cost of living crisis. And when we asked those New Yorkers who had voted for the President, when we saw an increase in his numbers in New York City, that came back to the same issue: cost of living, cost of living, cost of living. And they spoke about the cost of groceries, the cost of rent, the cost of Con Ed, the cost of childcare. And too often, politicians are looking to lecture to New Yorkers what they should care about as opposed to listen. And when we spoke to those voters who voted for President Trump, we heard them speak about cost of living. We focused on that same cost of living. And that’s where I am really looking forward to delivering for New Yorkers in partnership with the President on the affordability agenda.
TRUMP: And I think we have to work a little bit. We talked about Con Edison. We have to work a little bit on getting the prices because, you know, we’ve gotten fuel prices way down, but it hasn’t shown up in Con Edison. And we’re going to have to talk to them. You know, if we’re sending them fuel at a much lower price than it was a year ago, which is true, we have to get Con Edison to start lowering their rates.
MAMDANI: Absolutely.
U.K. Relations and Energy Policy
REPORTER: And, Rene, last week, you told me you were pretty happy with your plans to see if you could do $5 billion. You’re going to speak to Prime Minister Starmer as well. Is there any progress or any updates?
TRUMP: Well, we get along very well with the Prime Minister. We made a deal with U.K. I like him. He’s a fine person. And, you know, I think they have some big energy problems. You know, they’ve got windmills all over the place. They’re going to have to start using other methods because their energy is out of control. Talking about in the U.K., it’s out of control. And he’s got that problem. He’s got a big immigration problem, as you know, and he’s got a big energy problem. And we talk about it. He’s a good man. Prime Minister is a good man.
REPORTER: Have you talked to him this week?
TRUMP: No, I haven’t spoken this week.
Ukraine Peace Efforts
REPORTER: Mr. President, have you spoken to Ambassador Zelensky or the administration?
TRUMP: Who?
REPORTER: Ambassador Zelensky about your plans for the U.K.?
TRUMP: I’ve spoken with their people. We have a plan. It’s horrible what’s happening. It’s a war that should have never happened. It would have never happened if I was President, and it’s a shame. And I thought they should have acted quicker. But it’s a cold winter, and a lot of the — a lot of the — you talk about utilities, but a lot of the big energy-producing plants have been under attack, to put it mildly, to put it nicely.
Yeah, we have a way of getting peace, or we think we have a way of getting peace. He’s going to have to approve it. So sad. So many people. You know, last month, they lost 25,000 soldiers. This is something — we haven’t seen anything like this. This is the Second World War. They’re averaging 6,000 or 7,000 a week between the two of them — dead soldiers. And it goes on and on. And I think they’re getting reasonably close. But it’s — I don’t want to predict. I would have said that would have been one of my early ones. They did eight peace deals of countries, including in India, Pakistan. You could even go — in fact, they’re coming here in a week or two — go to the Congo and Rwanda.
That was one — 10 million people dead. And we worked something out on that. But so many. And the one I thought would have been, for me, because I have a very good relationship with President Putin, I thought that would have been maybe quicker. But it does take two to tango. And now you just see all the deaths. And, you know, it doesn’t affect us other than the fact that we don’t want to see all those people that, really, it’s on the other side of the ocean. That’s a war that should have never happened. It did happen. I blame the person also sitting right behind this desk. This is a war that should have never happened. And it wouldn’t have happened if I were President. But we’re trying to save a lot of lives. They’re losing 25 — think of that — 25,000 lives over the last short period of time. That’s Ukrainian and Russian. And it’s a shame.
The Press
REPORTER: When asked if the mayor-elect about a House resolution just passed overwhelmingly to condemn socialism, including the 86 Democrats, all of House Dems’ leadership and the minority leader, Steve Jeffries, despite his endorsement of you, what’s your reaction to that?
MAMDANI: I have to be honest with you. I focus very little on resolutions, frankly. I’ve been focusing —
REPORTER: And socialism.
MAMDANI: I understand. I think the focus is on the work at hand. I can tell you I am someone who is a Democratic Socialist. I’ve been very open about that. And I know there might be differences about ideology, but the place of agreement is the work that needs to be done to make New York City affordable. That’s what I look forward to.
REPORTER: And I want to clarify that your answer is just given often. If you asked about your comment on the presence of fascists, your answer was, both President Trump and I have been clear about our positions and our views. Are you affirming? Do you think President Trump is a fascist?
MAMDANI: I’ve spoken about —
TRUMP: That’s okay. You can just say yes. Okay. It’s easier. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.
REPORTER: And I wanted to ask you also about this Ukraine plan. Yeah. President Zelensky said today that his country would risk either giving up its partner or giving up its dignity. There’s been criticism that this deal —
TRUMP: You mean he doesn’t like it?
REPORTER: It’s unclear. He was sort of defending —
TRUMP: He’ll have to like it. And if he doesn’t like it, then, you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess. The suggestion that you made, though, was that if he doesn’t accept it, that the U.S. would pull back its support for Ukraine.
REPORTER: Well, at some point, he’s going to have to accept something. You know, he hasn’t accepted. You remember right in the Oval Office not so long ago, I said, you don’t have the cards. Don’t forget, I inherited this war. I would have never — this war never would have happened. I inherited this war. And I thought he should have made a deal a year ago, two years ago. The ultimate deal would have been if it never started. That would have been the good deal. That could have been done, too, if you had the right president. But you didn’t have the right president.
REPORTER: Mr. President. Mr. President. Mr. President, the concept of living is something that you and Mr. Mamdani seem to agree on. Right. Democrats have run New York City for a long time, Mr. Mamdani. Do you see Democrat policy specifically as being a problem? And I’d like that to be a question that both of you can answer in New York City.
MAMDANI: Look, I think that there are many things in our city where we have to own the responsibility of. It’s things that existed long before the president was the president. And those are also — part of the message of our campaign was to take on a broken politics of the past. And I ran against a number of candidates who represented different versions of that past.
And what we found time and again is that working people were left behind in the politics of our city. And what we’re looking to do is put those people right back at the heart of our politics so that we don’t have a situation where we’re in the wealthiest city in the history of the world, and yet one in five can’t even afford $2.90 for a MetroCard.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Mr. President, you know, we had some interesting conversation. And some of his ideas really are the same ideas that I have. But a big thing on costs, you know, the new word is affordability. Another word is just groceries. You know, it’s sort of an old-fashioned word, but it’s very accurate. And they’re coming down. They’re coming down high. They were, you know, we had, both of us, we had the highest inflation in the history of our country the last four years under the Biden administration. And we’ve got inflation down now to a normal number. It’s going to go even a little bit lower than that. Katie, do you have something on that?
REPORTER: Mr. President, thank you so much. Mr. Khamenei often talks about the U.S. cities being covered by international law.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I don’t know what you’re referring to in terms of, it could be covered by international law, local law, it’s covered by a lot of laws, but it’s covered by U.S. law. Are you referring to anything in particular?
MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI: I think what I’ve shared with the President is our desire to not only follow the laws of our own city, laws that protect New Yorkers, but also a desire for consistency in our politics across the board, and that’s something that we’ve talked about and something that I know many New Yorkers want.
Immigration Enforcement and Crime
MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI: We discussed ICE and New York City, and I spoke about how the laws that we have in New York City allow for New York City government to speak to the federal administration for about 170 serious crimes. The concerns that many New Yorkers have are around the enforcement of immigration laws on New Yorkers across the five boroughs, and most recently we’re talking about a mother and her two children, how this has very little to do with what that is.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: What we did is we discussed crime, more than ICE per se. We discussed crime, and he doesn’t want to see crime, and I don’t want to see crime, and I have very little doubt that we’re not going to get along on that issue. He wants to, and he said some things that were very interesting, very interesting as to housing construction, and he wants to see houses go up. He wants to see a lot of houses created, a lot of apartments built, et cetera, and we actually are, people would be shocked, but I want to see the same thing. Jack?
Property Tax Reform
REPORTER: Mr. President, I wanted to know, one of the policies as well that Mayor-elect Mamdani talked a number of times about on the campaign was lifting the tax burden for property taxes from what he called minority communities to white-based communities and putting more taxes on white people. I also noticed that in your acceptance speech, you didn’t mention anything about America or Christians or white people in general, and so I didn’t know if that was one of the policies that you guys have spoken about.
MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI: We focused on affordability. We focused on the cost of living crisis. What I will say is that I am very much interested in property tax reform because what we see right now in New York City is a system that is so inequitable that it can’t even stand up in court, and the President and I spoke about the importance of not only building more housing, but also making sure that regulation of housing is something that is manageable to actually get through and not the cause of yet another weight that we see in our city.
REPORTER: Are you continuing this idea of race-based property taxes?
No, to be very clear, the use of the term was a description of neighborhoods, not a description of intent.
REPORTER: So you intend to tax the whiter neighborhoods more?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: No, we intend to create a fair property tax system because we want a New York City that is not only fair and equitable, but also one that every New Yorker can afford.
REPORTER: Mr. Montgomery, anti-Israel protesters have targeted a synagogue in New York. Are you concerned that Jewish New Yorkers will not be safe in the city? And President Trump, you threatened to cut off federal funding to New York City. What policies do you propose to do that with that being a city-run grocery store or something else?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I think if we didn’t get along, whether it’s cut off or just make it a little bit difficult or not give as much, we want to see a, I use the term, we don’t want good money going after bad. We just, we don’t want that to happen. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I did say, you know, subject to what policies are being set.
We had a meeting today that actually surprised me. He wants to see no crime, he wants to see housing being built, he wants to see rents coming down, all things that I agree with. Now, we may disagree how we get there, the rent coming down. I think one of the things I really gleaned very much today, we’d like to see him come down, ideally by building a lot of additional housing. That’s the ultimate way. He agrees with that and so do I. But if I read the newspapers and the stories, I don’t hear, I don’t hear that. But I hear, I heard him say it today and I think that’s a very positive step.
No, I don’t expect, I expect to be helping him, not hurting him, a big help because I want New York City to be great. Look, I love New York City. It’s where I come from. I spent a lot of years there. Now I’m right here. We took a big setback with a mayor that we had named de Blasio. I thought it was a tremendous setback for the city. I think this mayor can do some things that are going to be really great.
REPORTER: Mr. President, I’m sorry to interrupt you, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Okay, how about you, you? Thank you. Go ahead.
Would Trump Feel Comfortable Living in NYC?
REPORTER: You’re a billionaire. You’ve got a different address nowadays than you used to, but you used to call New York City home. Would you feel comfortable living in New York City under a Montgomery administration?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yeah, I would. I really would. Especially after the meeting. Absolutely.
REPORTER: What makes you comfortable?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I think he’s, I want him to do a great job and we’ll help him do a great job. You know, he may have different views, but in many ways, you know, we were discussing when Bernie Sanders was out of the race, I picked up a lot of his votes and people had no idea because he was strong on not getting ripped off in trade and lots of the things that I’ve practiced and have been very successful on tariffs, a lot of things.
Bernie Sanders and I agreed on much more than people thought. And when he was put out of the race, I think quite unfairly, if you want to know the truth. Many of the Bernie Sanders voters voted for me. And I felt very comfortable, frankly, in seeing that and saying that. You know, it just turned out to be a statistical truth.
But no, I feel very comfortable. I would be, I would feel very, very comfortable being in New York and I think much more so after the meeting. Yes, please.
REPORTER: Thank you, Mr. President. I have a question for you, but a very good one for the mayor. Please. Why did you fly here? Aren’t trains greener?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I’ll use every form of transit and I want to make sure that they’re all affordable in New York City.
And that’s why making buses fast and free is a central piece of our community.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I know, but if he flew, that’s a lot quicker, too. No, I mean, he’s working very hard for him to be, that’s a long, that’s a very, that’s a very long drive. I’ll stick up for you. You know, the plane takes you 30 minutes and driving takes you a long time.
Coast Guard and Hate Symbols
REPORTER: Mr. President, I was wondering if you could clear up the confusion around the Washington Post report. There was this explosive report that the Coast Guard is no longer going to characterize swastikas as hate symbols. DHS called that a lie and fake news. Can you clear up?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don’t know anything about it. When was this written?
REPORTER: Yesterday.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, look, the Coast Guard’s an incredible group of people. I know them very well. We just ordered a lot of new Coast Guard cutters. Beautiful. The most magnificent ship. They look like yachts with lots of guns on them. So I don’t know. I haven’t seen any report like that, but certainly we want them to remain a great force, and they are.
Gaza and New York City Priorities
REPORTER: Mr. President, I would like to ask Mr. Mamdani, you accused the U.S. government of committing genocide in Gaza while President Trump was working on peace. Why that?
MAMDANI: I’ve spoken about the Israeli government committing genocide, and I’ve spoken about our government funding it, and I shared with the President in our meeting about the concern that many New Yorkers have of wanting their tax dollars to go towards the benefit of New Yorkers and their ability to afford basic dignity. And what we see right now is we’re in the ninth consecutive year of more than 100,000 schoolchildren being homeless in our city. And there’s a desperate need not only for the following of human rights, but also the following through on the promises we’ve made to New Yorkers. And I appreciated the meeting we had and the work that we can do.
REPORTER: But do you agree that President Trump didn’t do a thing and worked hard to make the peace? Because he worked hard to do the peace in the Middle East and everywhere. Do you agree with that?
MAMDANI: I appreciate all efforts towards peace, and I shared with President Trump that when I spoke to Trump voters on Hillside Avenue, including one of whom was a pharmacist, spoke about how President Trump’s father actually went to that pharmacy not too far from Jamaica Estates, that people were tired of seeing our tax dollars fund endless wars. And I also believe that we have to follow through on the international human rights, and I know that still today those are being violated, and that continues to be work that has to be done no matter where we’re speaking of.
Democratic Party Leadership
REPORTER: Mr. President, one other thing, Mr. President. You’re the mayor of New York, the true leader of the Democrat Party. And do you think that you as a leader have to follow his lead?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, look, I hope they have great leaders. This is a man that right now I think is focused on New York City. I really think he has a chance to do a great job. We’re going to help him, but I really think he has a chance to do a great job. But I’ll let you answer that. You consider yourself the leader of the Democrats. I think it’s more appropriate for him.
MAMDANI: I consider myself the next mayor of New York City, and I keep my horizons firmly on New York City, and I appreciate the meeting with the President, which focused again on the five boroughs and whether New Yorkers could afford to live there.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: By the way, being the mayor of New York City is a big deal.
MAMDANI: Absolutely.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I always said, you know, one of the things I would have loved to be someday is the mayor of New York City. Being the mayor of New York, and especially now, because I think you’re at really a turning point one way or the other.
It could go great, or it can go in a different direction. And I think you really have a chance to make it great.
REPORTER: I appreciate it. Mr. President, you say you love New York City. Mr. Montgomery, does New York City love President Trump?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: New York City loves a future that is affordable. And I can tell you that there were more New Yorkers who voted for President Trump in the most recent presidential election because of that focus on cost of living. And I’m looking forward to working together to deliver on that affordability agenda.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I got a lot of votes.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: One more. Go ahead. One or two more. Go ahead.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I tell you, the press has eaten this thing up. You know, I’ve had a lot of meetings with the heads of major countries. Nobody cared. This meeting that you people have done, you know, outside, you have hundreds of people waiting. This is just a small little group. For some reason, the press has found this to be a very interesting meeting. The biggest people in the world, they come over from countries nobody cares. But they did care about this meeting, and it was a great meeting. Go ahead.
Why There’s So Much Excitement Around the Meeting
REPORTER: Yeah, Mr. President, I was going to ask you exactly that. Why do you think there’s so much excitement around President Trump?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Because I think he’s different. All right? I think he’s different. And that can be in a very positive way. But I think he’s different than, you know, your typical guy. Runs, wins, becomes mayor maybe, and nothing exciting. Because he has a chance to really do something great for New York. New York is at a very critical point. And he does need the help of the federal government to really succeed. We’re going to be helping him. But he’s different than, you know, your average candidate. He came out of nowhere. I said, he has a great campaign manager standing over there. He came out of nowhere. Wouldn’t you start off at one or two? I watched. I said, who is this guy? He was at one. Then he was at three. Then he was at five. Then he was at nine. Then he went up to 17. I said, hmm, that’s getting a little bit interesting, right? And then all of a sudden, he wins a primary that nobody expected he was going to win. A great tribute. It’s an amazing thing that he did.
Appreciating FDR’s Portrait and Legacy
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I’ll just add one thing to what the President said. One thing I also appreciated is in our meeting to appreciate a portrait of FDR and the incredible work that was done with the New Deal and also in thinking about what it can look like when the federal government and New York City government work together to deliver on affordability. It can be transformative.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: You know, we have a great portrait of FDR that I found in the vault that was missing for years. I found it, and I put it up. He’s a Democrat, to the best of my knowledge. He’s a Democrat. And when the mayor saw that portrait, he said, “Sir, do you mind if I have a picture taken by that portrait?” It’s an amazing portrait. I hope the picture comes out good. But it’s an amazing portrait in the Cabinet Room. So he’s a big fan of the New Deal, I guess, and of FDR.
Question on Crime and Police Officers
REPORTER: Yes? Thank you, Mr. President. You said that you both spoke about crime. There are many police officers that come off the rolls at the end of this year in New York City. Are you going to allow those police to be replaced with police officers, actual cops? Are you going to require that that happens? Would there be some consequences?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, I hope it happens, but again, that’s going to be ultimately the mayor’s decision. What’s your answer?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Is that I look forward to delivering public safety with the NYPD, and I’ve said over the course of our campaign that we have the number of police officers today. They’re the ones that’s budgeted about 35,000 headcount.
And I think the key thing is that we have to make it easier for police to focus on police work, not ask them to respond to 200,000 mental health calls a year.
REPORTER: So is that a rejection from what you’re at right now? Are you committing to maintaining the same level of cops?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I’ve committed over the course of the campaign to maintain the 35,000. That’s the headcount that we have through the campaign.
REPORTER: And not replace them with caseworkers, social workers?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: No, I’ve said that’s the headcount that we want. What we need to do is make sure they can focus on serious crime.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: And he just retained a great police commissioner. I believe, right?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Yes, he did.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: If the newspapers are correct.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: That one they’re correct about.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: He retained, I think, somebody that is a good friend of some of the people in my family, Ivanka. And they say she’s really good, really competent. And he just retained her, so that’s a good sign.
Future Collaboration and Disagreements
REPORTER: Are there any more topics that you two disagree on in the future? Do you think you’ll have more to do with this?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: There will be topics that we disagree on. I think we’ll probably come to a conclusion. And ultimately, he’ll convince me, or I’ll convince him. You know, it’s for the good of New York. Ultimately, it’s for the good of New York. I don’t care about affiliations or parties or anything else. I want to see if he could be unbelievable. If he could be a spectacular success, I’d be very happy.
REPORTER: Do you think you guys will do more in the future? Do you think you’ll meet again in the future?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think we will. I think we will. I hope we do. I enjoyed the meeting.
Response to Campaign Attacks
REPORTER: Mr. President, Republican Elise Stefanik has campaigned multiple times by calling Zohran Mamdani a jihadist. Do you think you’re standing next to a jihadist right now in the Oval Office?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, I don’t. But she’s out there campaigning. And, you know, you say things sometimes in a campaign. She’s a very capable person. But you’d really have to ask her about that. But I don’t particularly… I think I met with a very… I met with a man who’s a very rational person. I met with a man who really wants to see New York be great again. And I can say again, because New York was great.
You know, when I came down to Washington initially, the city was so hot. It was doing great. We were having some telltale signs of problems. We had a mayor that was not doing a great job, but still, it was moving along, and it went bad. It really went, you know, pretty bad. And he can — I think it’s been at lower points, but it went pretty bad.
I think he can bring it back. Now, the question is, will he bring it back all the way? Will he bring it back greater than ever before, which is our guarantee? That’s his wish. I think he wants to make it greater than ever before. And if he can, we’ll be out there cheering. I’ll be cheering for him. Okay?
Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you very much.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Oh, no, I care very deeply about Jewish safety, and I look forward to rooting out anti-Semitism across the five boroughs and protecting Jewish New Yorkers and every New Yorker who calls City Hall.
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