President Trump’s Oval Office meeting on Friday with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani surprised pretty much everyone. Instead of the expected fireworks, it was actually quite friendly, and seemingly productive. But, the most entertaining part of it has been the left’s reaction. Democrats are scrambling to explain what happened, and their attempts to spin the meeting are laughably absurd. And I suspect there’s quite a bit of panic.
Mamdani, an unabashed socialist who routinely positioned himself as a leader of the anti-Trump resistance, now finds himself in a tough position. His base demands ideological purity, but governing New York City means dealing with the realities of… well… governing. The meeting put Mamdani in a tough spot: embrace some pragmatism or risk alienating his left-wing supporters.
The left’s reaction to the meeting has been a mix of panic and confusion.
Take Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who tried to spin the encounter on CNN’s The Lead. Warren claimed Trump was trying to latch onto Mamdani’s rising profile because he “has a problem with affordability,” and sees Mamdani as the new face of the issue. She argued, “So is it any surprise that Donald Trump wants to stand next to Zohran Mamdani and say, ‘Oh, yeah, we think about things the same way, particularly when it comes to affordability'?” She added, “He’s just trying to take a little of the shine that Zohran Mamdani has and see if he can, you know, rub a little on Donald Trump.”
That’s a hilarious theory. After four years of unchecked inflation under Trump, inflation is finally getting under control, while wages are going up. For Mamdani, affordability is a talking point. For Trump, it’s actual results.
ICYMI: Trump Reacts to MTG's Resignation, and It Is Brutal
Here are the facts: Democrats have no idea why Trump met with Mamdani in the Oval Office and are struggling to understand the move, and seem to consider the possibility that Trump has a strategy. When I first saw the video of the meeting, it reminded me of Trump’s meeting earlier this year with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The backlash she got from the left was brutal, and won’t do her any favors when she runs for president in 2028. And we all know that she will.
Mamdani now faces a similar dilemma: accept Trump’s diplomacy and risk losing his far-left credibility, or reject it and potentially miss out on pragmatic cooperation he needs to run New York City effectively, at a time when his base demands resistance to everything Trump does, which puts Mamdani in a no-win situation.
The encounter allows Trump to craft an image of a presidential, pragmatic leader extending a hand of cooperation without losing his supporters’ trust. Meanwhile, Mamdani risks appearing too conciliatory, potentially fracturing his support among the radical left, who expected diehard resistance.
Make no mistake about it, contrary to what Sen. Warren said, Trump isn’t hoping some of Mamdani’s shine rubs off on him; he’s looking to rub a little bit of his own shine on Mamdani, and watch the chickens of the left start a pecking party.
Democrats can pile up excuses, yet the scene speaks for itself. Trump stepped into the moment with a presidential posture and offered an unexpected olive branch. Mamdani now walks a tightrope between ideological purity and governing in the real world. Democrats scramble for explanations. Trump’s instincts continue to set the pace, leaving his opponents completely unprepared.
