Trump plans to meet with New York Mayor-elect Mamdani and says they will “find a solution”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump indicated Sunday that he plans to meet with New York City Mayor-elect Zahran Mamdani and said they would “work something out” in what could be a détente between the Republican president and the Democratic political star who each portray the other as failed political figures.

Trump has for months criticized Mamdani, falsely calling him a “communist” and predicting the ruin of his hometown, New York, if the democratic socialist is elected. He also threatened to deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a naturalized U.S. citizen, and to withdraw federal funds from the city.

Mamdani rose from an obscure state lawmaker to become a social media star and a symbol of resistance to Trump during his mayoral campaign. He campaigned on a set of progressive policies and a message that was vocal in its opposition to the aggressive anti-immigrant agenda that Trump advanced in his second term in the White House.

The 34-year-old won the admiration of a wide swath of New Yorkers and defeated a political heavyweight, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, by about 9 percentage points.

In his election night victory speech, Mamdani said he wanted New York to show the country how to defeat the president. But the next day, while talking about his plans to “Trump-proof” New York once he takes office in January, the new mayor also said he was willing to work with anyone, including the president, if it could help New Yorkers.

Mamdani’s representatives had no immediate comment Sunday night on the president’s comments, but a spokesman pointed to the mayor-elect’s comments last week when he said he planned to reach out to the White House “because this relationship will be critical to the city’s success.”

Trump expressed similar sentiments on Sunday.

“I will say that the mayor of New York would like to meet with us. We’re going to work something out,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to return to Washington after spending the weekend in Florida.

White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt soon after clarified that Trump was referring to Mamdani, and said no date had been set for such a meeting.

“We want to see everything go well for New York,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments came as he also said the US may soon hold discussions with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, following a military build-up near the South American country. “I’ll talk to anyone,” Trump said.

Prices reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Jake Aufenhartz in New York contributed to this report.