'I'll Stick Up for You': Watch Key Moments from Trump's Bizarre, Funny Meeting with Mamdani

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Do not adjust your television sets.

There really was a cordial, polite, agreeable, funny — and yes, bizarre — meeting between President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

The two politicians met in the Oval Office Friday to discuss a number of issues pertaining to Mamdani’s forthcoming role as mayor of the most populated city in the United States.

Going into this meeting, many expected sparks to fly, given the respective rhetoric the two had regarding each other.

Whatever bad blood may or may not have existed between the America-First Trump and socialist Mamdani, tunes appeared to have changed before Friday’s meeting.

This is not to say that no sparks flew, as one can see in this interaction between Mamdani and Turning Point USA’s Jack Posobiec:

Posobiec grilled Mamdani on Mamdani’s notion of taxing higher-earning white people more than others, to which Mamdani didn’t have a great response.

Were you surprised at the tone of this Oval Office meeting?

Yes: 62% (8 Votes)

No: 38% (5 Votes)

But as far as any sparks between Trump and Mamdani? There were almost none to be found.

In fact, whatever the opposite of sparks are (warm fuzzies?) is what seemed to fly between the two New Yorkers.

“We had discussions on some things,” Trump told a reporter. “I’m not going to discuss what they were, but I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually.”

In fact, whatever heat Mamdani may have felt in the Oval Office came mostly from the media in attendance, not from Trump himself.

Here’s the president sticking up for Mamdani, who was asked why he took a plane instead of a train to the White House, given that trains are supposedly more environmentally friendly.

“Why did you fly here? Aren’t trains greener?” asked a reporter.

“I will use every form of transit, and I want to make sure they are all affordable in New York City, and that’s why making buses fast and free is a central piece of our campaign.”

“But if you flew, it’s a lot quicker, too,” Trump interjected. “He’s working very hard, that’s a very long drive. I’ll stick up for you.”

Trump even supported some of Mamdani’s vision, as well as Mamdani’s approach to combating the rising anti-Semitism in New York City (that one drew a “That was good!” from the president).

But the funniest moment of the meeting — at least according to Vice President J.D. Vance — was when Mamdani was asked the awkward question about how he had previously described Trump as “a fascist.”

“Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?” asked the reporter.

“I’ve spoken about — ” Mamdani began.

“That’s OK,” Trump interrupted. “You can just say yes. It’s easier than explaining it.”

Trump added, “I don’t mind,” as he gave Mamdani a friendly pat on the arm.

“POTUS has a lot of good moments but this is an all-timer,” Vance posted in response to the viral video moment.

Sr. Editor / Sr. Writer

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Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.

Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.

Birthplace

Hawaii

Education

Class of 2010 University of Arizona. BEAR DOWN.

Location

Phoenix, Arizona

Languages Spoken

English, Korean

Topics of Expertise

Sports, Entertainment, Science/Tech

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