(MENAFN- Gulf Times) US President Donald Trump gave a warm greeting to incoming New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday, praising Mamdani's electoral victory in the first in-person meeting for the political opposites, who have clashed over everything from immigration to economic policy.
A democratic socialist and little-known state lawmaker who won New York's mayoral race earlier this month, Mamdani requested the sit-down with Trump to discuss cost-of-living issues and public safety.
After months of trading barbs and insults in the media, the mayor-elect and the president appeared to put aside their differences and quickly strike a rapport in the Oval Office, a setting that Trump has sometimes used to embarrass heads of state.
"We agreed on a lot more than I thought," Trump said after inviting journalists into the Oval Office following a private meeting. "We have one thing in common: we want this city of ours that we love to do very well."
Sitting at his desk, Trump smiled up at Mamdani, who stood to the president's right, and offered his congratulations on winning the mayoral election earlier this month: "He really ran an incredible race against some very tough people, very smart people.
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"It was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City, and the need to deliver affordability to New Yorkers," Mamdani said.
Trump said he was happy to put aside partisan differences. "The better he does the happier I am," Trump said.
Uganda-born Mamdani will be the first Muslim and first South Asian mayor in the city that is home to Wall Street. His energetic, social media-savvy campaign provoked debate about the best path for Democrats.. Mamdani vowed to focus on affordability issues, including the cost of housing, groceries, childcare and buses in a city of 8.5 million people. New Yorkers pay nearly double the average rent nationwide. Inflation has been a major issue for Americans, and it's one on which they give Trump low marks. Just 26% of Americans say Trump is doing a good job at managing the cost of living, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week.

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