New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has a “direct” and “productive” relationship with Donald Trump, the former told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker Sunday. Mamdani added that Trump told reporters after the pair’s first meeting that “the better this city does, the happier I feel,” which he said mirrors his own sentiments “exactly.”
When asked about the pair’s dynamic, Mamdani admitted it’s “honest, it’s direct and it’s productive.” The mayor has made no secret of his ideological and personal disagreements with the president since well before he assumed office.
Though he declined to specify how frequently they speak, Mamdani also said, “I’ll keep the cadence of that between the two of us. Much of that is based on the premise of privacy, but what I will say is that, those conversations, no matter how they happen, they return 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 this same city.”
He continued, “He said it after the first meeting that we had in the Oval Office. He told the press that were there that the better this city does, the happier he feels. That’s exactly how I feel about this city as well.”
Mamdani also affirmed his belief in democratic socialism, which he said he believes in “more than I did the day before … because of the fact that it is focused on the needs of working people, and working people need that focus, that fight from politicians more than ever.”
Elsewhere in the interview Welker grilled Mamdani on his political promises and platform, including universal childcare for two-year-olds within two years of election. If he’s reelected, that plan will eventually include children as young as six weeks old.
New Yorkers can expect to “see full universal child care for two-year-olds by the end of the first term, and then in the second term, we would pursue fulfilling that for one-year-olds and those from six weeks and above,” Mamdani said.
“We’ve always said over the course of the campaign, we would deliver it for New Yorkers from the ages of six weeks to five years. What we’ve started in these first 100 days was fixing the system for three-year-olds. We’ve delivered on that,” he continued. “We’re rolling that out right now, and then starting to deliver it for the first time in history for two-year-olds.”
The plan for two-year-olds could save families $20,000 a year, and give them the opportunity to “raise their kid in the city they love.”
Mamdani and the state’s governor are aligned on the childcare plan, he said, and a pied-à-terre tax, which will impact people who own homes in the city they don’t live in.
“This is the kind of real estate activity that’s happening in this city, homes that are largely empty for much of the year, but it all occurs while New Yorkers are hurting in this same city,” he explained. “We’re starting to actually bridge that gap, and I’m so excited to be working with the governor on it.”
Watch the interview with Zohran Mamdani in the video above.
