Not even thirty days have passed since the American president and the new mayor of New York were exchanging sharp characterizations. And yet today, the two men, representing diametrically opposite age and ideological worlds, will meet in the White House, inaugurating the beginning of a relationship that is an enigma.
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In a message via TruthSocial, Trump clarified that “the communist mayor” requested the meeting, adding meaningfully that “more details will follow.” “I intend to make it clear to President Trump that I will work with him on any issue that benefits New Yorkers,” Mamdani commented, adding that he would be “the first” to oppose it in case the interests of the citizens are affected. The press representative of the first democratic socialist and Muslim mayor in the history of the American metropolis, Dora Pecketts, spoke of a “formal meeting, in which the new administration will discuss with the president issues of public safety, economic stability and living standards.” The fact is, however, that Mamdani’s predecessors, Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams, had only met Trump at events that included other elected officials.
The climate of the statements, however, has nothing to do with what preceded the municipal elections on November 4, when Trump predicted that “Miami will soon become a refuge for those escaping from communism in New York” and threatened to arrest Mamdani in case he stands in the way of the implementation of the immigration policy, which includes violent deportations. And the rhetoric of the latter, however, is far from the first post-election statements, when he called on the American president to “raise the tension” in front of the noisy crowd of his supporters.
Continuity or rupture?
Mamdani’s election followed moves that suggested the two men would take a softer path, with Trump announcing on Sunday (11/16) that he plans to meet with the New York mayor-elect, saying among other things: “We will find a solution.” As for the 34-year-old Mamdani, he was giving the first credentials of consensus by putting together his transition team, which at the leadership level is made up of women who worked for the previous two mayoral administrations. The new mayor’s support for New York Police Chief Jessica Tice, who is considered a popular person and whose tenure has been linked to a drastic reduction in crime, can also be seen as a gesture of goodwill towards the city’s traditional institutions.
However, the question remains, both regarding the outcome and the style of the meeting. What common ground can be found between a 79-year-old ultra-conservative politician, a fan of the wildest form of entrepreneurship and a native New Yorker and a 34-year-old socialist, born of immigrants, who favors a property tax increase as a financing source for the establishment of free bus transportation and the creation of a new network of kindergartens? How can Trump’s rough, unpredictable communication style be reconciled with Mamdani’s positive, engaging approach? Will the US president, on live television, want an aggressive approach, similar to the one he reserved for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky? Or will they find the chemistry needed for the two of them to coexist, against the backdrop of the future of the city that “never sleeps”?
