‘Turn the Volume Up’ — was young New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s words for US President Donald Trump in his resounding victory speech. Trump sure did – and heard enough to shift from an angry, bitter, threatening persona to a fawning, loving, admiring grandad after his first meeting with Mamdani at the White House in Washington.
Mamdani’s young and brilliant team asked for the meeting. But not after both had cascaded the other with ‘communist, jihadist’ adjectives from Washington and “fascist, authoritarian” splurges from New York. After Trump granted the meeting, Mamdani made it clear to his supporters that he was going to make his case for New York, would stand by them, and that was prepared for any eventuality. Images of the disastrous Trump-Zelensky meeting at the White House were evoked by the New Yorkers and the media across of course, everyone fearing the worst because of the build up.
That Trump too was prepared and the shift when it came was spontaneous was visible from the fact that the media interaction was packed with his favourites, and all had come with a barrage of hard questions for Mamdani to answer. Trump’s happy television channel Fox News, had been going on about the meeting predicting Mamdani mincemeat at the end.
So the press interaction for the world to see came as a shock, a huge surprise to not just to the media but the world that had been sitting on edge for the blockbuster to unravel. Trump in fact, said as much saying that he has had all world leaders visit him but nothing had generated the kind of interest as his meeting with Mamdani.
Chameleon? Perhaps not as Trump seemed to be genuinely mesmerised by the charismatic Mayor-elect of New York. Clearly his polite but not deferential, firm but not angry, smiling but not weak, precise but not rigid persona had moved the US President who emerged from the meeting with a smiling countenance reaching out to repeatedly shake hands with Mamdani or slap him in friendly camaraderie. He in fact helped him dodge questions, the most famous being when a reporter asked Mamdani whether he still considered Trump a fascist. As the young Mayor standing quietly throughout the press conferences beside the US President tried to answer this Trump intervened with a ‘ say yes, that's easier.” The US President to further such questions said that words were used in a campaign that did not necessarily mean anything, as he refused to dub Mamdani a ‘jihadist’ for the benefit of the media, and said he had found him very “rational.”
It was a love fest as American commentators later described it. Trump could not get enough of Mamdani, staring at him during questions with a smile, and encouraging words throughout. It could have been dubbed a major performance but somehow it did not seem like an act. Trump was blown away, but of course the reasons for this shrewd politician to change colours so completely had also to do with politics and not just Mamdani’s undeniable charisma.
Affordability — that is the mantra that worked. And to understand it one has to go back to the visuals of Mamdani a year ago, when he was totally unknown in New York with a rating of just one per cent. He is seen walking across the New York Boroughs where Trump in his election had scored a big hit amongst voters who were not Republican supporters. In this effort to find out why voters had supported Trump, Mamdani came across the issues of livelihood, of economic distress, of safety — in short affordability and security that he went on to make the crux of his campaign. As he said at the press conference, and actually before it in New York, he and Trump had this in common as the people of New York had voted for the latter because of his campaign for livelihood and affordability.
Interestingly this is the common ground that Mamdani and his team decided to highlight, and make the pivot for the meeting with Trump. His young members said as much in an interview to the American media, and the Mayor-elect pointed out the similarity, adding that he would work with Trump if he supported this agenda. Clearly the articulate Mamdani laid this out in some detail at the meeting with Trump who by the way likes confidence and good economics. As he himself said he does not mind the insults as people have called him worse than a despot, and it makes no difference. After all J.D.Vance had once called him a Nazi by comparing him to Adolf Hitler, but that had not stopped him from appointing Vance as his Vice President.
So the adjectives were clearly not an issue with Trump. But his own assessment. One, he clearly liked Mamdani who impressed him with his candour and honesty and courage. Trump, while bullying those who are weak, admires those who stand up to him as has been evident in many of his visible relations with world leaders, some of whom now run from him.
And two, most importantly he was impressed with the Mamdani plan for affordability and security in which he saw his own getaway into New York. The US President is currently in a mess with the popularity ratings dipping rapidly, as his own base has started questioning his policies. Tariffs are not working as he had hoped, ICE has cut no ice with the Americans with Governors joining the people in standing up to the authoritarian measures — in short he is in a bind with no real ideas emerging from his team. Mamdani came as a breath of fresh air, with infectious enthusiasm, and a plan for which he needed federal help to make it work well. Affordability and security —and for the last the Mayor-elect has indicated commitment simply by keeping the Police Chief in place, and not replacing her. Why? As his team members and indeed Mamdani have said, this is because she has shown success in tackling crime and weeding out corrupt officers.
On ICE Mamdani has been clear that he would not allow these anti-immigrant masked men to run riot in New York. Trump did not challenge it but spoke also of crime and security for New Yorkers;
On arresting Israeli PM Netanyahu if he enters New York, Mamdani said New York will be a city that follows all laws, including international laws;
On genocide, Mamdani said he was not referring to Israel committing genoice in Gaza, and that “we are funding it.” Trump did not disagree, and listened quietly.
Clearly, Trump’s hope, or rather plan is, to climb out of the hole he is currently in through New York just as this large and complex city had opened the doors for his second term as President a year ago. And Mamdani’s open honesty and intelligence and commitment clearly worked for him, as these all point to an ability to get the task of affordability and security done. In a sense, he is happy to ride on the young Mayor’s back, providing the money as they go along.
This has worked for Mamdani as he has not had to compromise his ideology, declaring before the White House media that yes, he is a Socialist Democrat. He stood by what he has been saying, but has no hesitation in sharing the credit with Trump if he indeed follows through.
A third factor is probably also the Democrats' less than enthusiastic response to Mamdani. Except for the odd member, the Democrats have kept away from Mamdani, giving him no support at all during his tough campaign. He fought on the party ticket, wrested the primary, but all basically because of his own team and his and their amazing campaign. This independence would have worked with Trump who will find it difficult to embrace perhaps a Governor Gavin Newsom who comes from the Democratic mould, than a Mamdani who stands on the outside of the party structure.
The Mamdani-Trump relationship will continue to make waves, as it is so tied to New York and political ambitions.