MW Mamdani is meeting Trump at the White House. The mayor-elect says they're connected by this one big issue.
By Victor Reklaitis
The president says he and Mamdani both want to strengthen New York City
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to host New York City's mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, for a meeting Friday at the White House.
U.S. President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani have fierce criticisms for each other, but both of their political futures rest in large part on their ability to address worries about affordability.
So talk about the high cost of living is expected to figure prominently in their meeting at the White House, which is scheduled for around 3 p.m. Eastern.
Ahead of the meeting, Mamdani - a democratic socialist who was elected mayor of the country's biggest city on Nov. 4 - said his campaign focused on affordability in part because it was important for New Yorkers who had voted for the Republican president a year ago.
"What we found when we went to Hillside Avenue in Queens, went to Fordham Road in the Bronx - two of the neighborhoods with the largest swings toward Trump - when we asked people, 'Why did you vote for Trump?' they said, 'Cost of living, cost of living, cost of living,'" Mamdani said in an interview on Thursday with MS NOW, the left-leaning cable news channel that previously was called MSNBC.
"By focusing on cost of living, as opposed to paying consultants to tell New Yorkers what they should think, we were able to actually craft the campaign," the mayor-elect added. He said one supporter came to a rally in Forest Hills, a neighborhood in Queens, in a hat emblazoned with the words "MAGA" and "Mamdani."
Related: Why Mamdani and other Democrats won: Voters' finances are even worse now than when Trump won in 2024
From MarketWatch's archives (Nov. 6, 2024): High inflation - the killer of governments - doomed Harris and put Trump back in power
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that Trump's meeting with Mamdani in part "speaks to the fact that President Trump is willing to meet with anyone and talk to anyone and to try to do what's right on behalf of the American people, whether they live in blue states or red states or blue cities."
Trump told Fox News Radio on Friday morning that Mamdani has "such a different philosophy" but predicted a cordial meeting. The president, a New York City native, said: "I think we'll get along fine. Look, we're looking for the same thing: We want to make New York strong."
When asked about the meeting by MS NOW, Mamdani said he plans to "just speak plainly to the president about what it means to actually stand up for New Yorkers, and the way in which New Yorkers are struggling to afford this city."
The mayor-elect said: "Cost of living is something that I heard time and time again from New Yorkers about why they voted for Donald Trump, and this is something that has only continued in the last few months of this year - where we're hearing about child-care concerns, rent concerns, ConEd $(ED)$ concerns, even just getting on the bus - just $2.90."
Now read: Why Trump's plan to lower beef, coffee and banana prices may not help Americans where they're hurting the most
-Victor Reklaitis
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November 21, 2025 11:54 ET (16:54 GMT)
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