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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described his relationship with President Donald Trump as “honest and direct” despite the president’s recent criticism against him.
“I would say that it’s honest, it’s direct, and it’s productive,” Mamdani said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I’ll keep the cadence of that between the two of us. Much of that is based on the premise of privacy, but I will say is that those conversations, no matter how they happen, they returned back to one thing, one of the few things that we have in common, which is our love for New York City and how to deliver for the same city.”
When asked if he could “trust” Trump, Mamdani remarked that it’s part of conversations that “have to continue,” though he credited the president for his efforts to help release a Columbia University student, Elmina “Ellie” Aghayeva, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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“I think we see in those decisions the worth of a relationship that is both honest and direct and looking to be productive and that honesty means acknowledging places of disagreement. When I was telling him that, I also told him, as I’ve said time and again, that I believe these ICE raids to be cruel, to be inhumane and to do nothing to serve in the stated interests that it has, which is that of public safety,” Mamdani said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Mamdani’s comments came after Trump criticized the mayor for introducing a “pied-à-terre” tax on New York City properties worth over $5 million.
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“Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York! It has no chance! The United States of America should not contribute to its failure. It will only get WORSE. The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG. People are fleeing. They must change their ways, AND FAST. History has proven, THIS ‘STUFF’ JUST DOESN’T WORK. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Prior to Trump’s post, Mamdani and Trump had met with each other at least twice since Mamdani was elected in November. Reports have also suggested that the two call and text each other semi-regularly.
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The two surprised commentators for previously maintaining a cordial relationship despite their different political leanings. In November, Trump similarly told the press that both he and Mamdani were motivated to help New York City.
“We have one thing in common,” Trump said. “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, you know, 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.”
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