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Speaking at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday, film director and New York City icon Spike Lee said he was “puzzled” by the cordial Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani during their joint press conference on Friday.
Some viewers of Friday’s press conference — including Trump critic Lee — were left surprised by the amicable nature of the meeting between the two men, who had been engaged in a war of words since Mamdani emerged as the mayoral front-runner.
“[During the election, Trump] called him a communist and said New York City was going to go down the drain,” Lee said at the festival’s press conference, as reported by Variety. “I mean, the President said he was going to cut off federal funding. So from the things that were said to this quick turnaround… I’m puzzled.”
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The film director continued, recalling the previous warnings from Trump about what would happen to New York City if Mamdani were to win the mayorship.
“When you go back and see what the President said about him, and what would happen to New York City if [Mamdani] won, it just seems… It seems like they somehow found common ground,” he noted.
Turning his attention to others who predicted the city would become a disaster if Mamdani were to become mayor, Lee said, “There were a lot of people saying if Mamdani won, they were going to leave New York City. Now, I really want the real numbers if anybody actually left!”
In 2024, ahead of the presidential election, Lee called the prospect of Trump’s reelection a ‘doomsday’ scenario.
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While many would have expected fireworks during Friday’s joint press conference, the pair found unity during their meeting, with Trump telling the media the pair share the mission of a better New York City.
“We have one thing in common,” Trump said Friday. “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.”
The president and mayor-elect met at the White House Friday afternoon before opening the Oval Office doors to the media for questions. Trump predicted New York City, his hometown, will get a “great mayor” while remarking that the White House would be there to assist.
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“I think you’re going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor and the better he does, the happier I am,” Trump said. “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.”
Trump remained seated during his press event, while Mamdani stood by his side and fielded a handful of questions. The pair shared a hopeful outlook for the future, with Trump arguing that, despite their political differences, they will work together and also share a handful of priorities, namely affordability and lowering the cost of living for Americans.
The mayor-elect added that he was appreciative of the meeting and said it largely focused on how to better New York City and help families struggling with costs.
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
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