New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said on Wednesday’s “All In with Chris Hayes” that he requested a White House meeting with President Donald Trump to “speak plainly to the president about what it means to actually stand up for New Yorkers.”
“I want to just speak plainly to the president about what it means to actually stand up for New Yorkers and the way in which New Yorkers are struggling to afford this city, and frankly, cost of living is something that I heard time and time again from New Yorkers about why they voted for Donald Trump,” Mamdani said. “This is something that has only continued in the last few months of this year, where we’re hearing about child care concerns, rent concerns, Con Ed concerns, even just getting on the bus is $2.90 and just to make it clear to the president that this is what we’re talking about, these are the stakes for New Yorkers and their ability to keep calling the city their home.”
President Donald Trump, who spent much of the campaign trail deriding the Democratic socialist as a “communist” who would receive only the bare minimum in federal funding, confirmed on Wednesday that he would be meeting with Mamdani on Friday in the Oval Office.
“Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani, has asked for a meeting,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday night. “We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st. Further details to follow!”
Mamdani had made multiple direct appeals to Trump during his 2025 campaign, speaking to him directly during a Fox News interview to say he’d be “ready to speak at any time to lower the cost of living.” He also used his victory speech earlier this month to castigate the president for his threats to withhold federal funds and send in immigration officials.
“Hear me, President Trump, when I say this,“ Mamdani said. “To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”
