President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani held a "good and very productive" meeting in the Oval Office, where the two emphasized common ground despite their major political differences.
Trump said some of his voters had also voted for Mamdani and that he was "totally fine" with that, noting shared concerns about the cost of living and peace in the Middle East.
He congratulated Mamdani and said he hopes he "will be a very good mayor," and even "surprise both conservatives and liberals."
For his part, Mamdani described the meeting as productive and focused on the needs of New Yorkers, especially the affordability of living in the most expensive city in the US.

He stated that he and the president discussed rent, food prices, energy, and all the ways in which citizens are being driven out of the city.
"We talked about rent, we talked about food, we talked about utilities. We talked about the different ways people are being evicted," Mamdani said, referring to the main issues of his mayoral campaign.
"I appreciated the time with the president, I appreciated the conversation, and I look forward to working together to deliver this affordability for New Yorkers."
Both emphasized their desire to work together to help New York's 8.5 million residents.