The White House on Thursday emphasised that President Donald Trump remains willing to “meet anyone” in the interest of the American public, ahead of his scheduled meeting with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Friday.
The remark came even as the administration escalated its criticism of Mamdani, branding him a “communist” just a day before his visit.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that preparations were underway for the meeting. “… The President stated that the Mayor-elect will be coming to the Oval Office tomorrow, so our teams are arranging those details… It speaks volumes that tomorrow we have a Communist coming to the White House, because that’s who the Democrat Party elected as the Mayor of the largest city in the country,” Leavitt said during a briefing.
Leavitt argued that New York City is moving further to the political left than Trump had expected.
“It’s very telling but it also speaks to the fact that President Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and try to do what’s right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states or blue cities and the city which is becoming much more Left than the President ever anticipated in his many years of living in New York himself,” she added.
The meeting was first confirmed by Trump on Wednesday through a post on Truth Social, where he wrote, “Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani, has asked for a meeting. We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st. Further details to follow!”
The announcement comes after months of tense exchanges between Trump and Mamdani. According to The New York Times, Mamdani’s team had recently contacted the White House seeking a meeting centered on New York’s affordability crisis—a shift from the confrontational rhetoric of the campaign trail.
During his run for office, Mamdani had repeatedly described Trump as a threat to democracy and claimed he was the only candidate with the “backbone” to stand up to him.
