New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani revealed Tuesday that he plans to call President Donald Trump, one of his fiercest critics, before he is sworn into office.
“I will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city,” Mamdani said in an interview with NBC New York ahead of assuming the mayorship on Jan. 1, 2026.
“I’ll say that I’m here to work for the benefit of everyone who calls the city home and that wherever there is a possibility for working together towards that end, I’m ready,” he added. “And if it’s to the expense of those New Yorkers, I will fight it.”
The mayor-elect’s preview of how he will approach Trump comes after the president emerged as one of Mamdani’s most outspoken critics as he campaigned to lead the country’s largest city.
Trump led Republicans, as well as moderates in both parties, in expressing concern that Mamdani, a socialist, would enact policies as mayor that would prove detrimental to New York City. Mamdani has attracted criticism for saying his administration will “shift the tax burden to homes” to “whiter neighborhoods,” associating with figures tied to Hamas during his career as a rap artist, and for his position toward Israel, as Mamdani is against Zionism and has declined to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.”
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly threatened to withhold federal funding from New York if Mamdani won City Hall, arguing it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars to send them to a “Communist Lunatic” who will “destroy” the Big Apple.
On Tuesday, Mamdani said he would take a “proactive” approach to the White House, suggesting he preferred a collaborative approach with adversaries and wanted to avoid a scenario where Trump sends National Guard troops to the city.
Aside from Trump, Mamdani faces leading establishment Democrats in his own state who are wary of some of his socialist economic policies.
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Though she endorsed Mamdani’s candidacy, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) recently threw a damper on the mayor-elect’s hopes to make all buses free in New York City.
“We’re spending a lot of money, so I cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways,” Hochul said during remarks at the Somos Conference in Puerto Rico over the weekend.
